Sophia: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction
by Writersmagnet
Summary: Sophia Holt was always the weird one in a crowd. Not only was she an orphan, but weird things happened around her. When she learned she was a demigod, she finally found a place where she belonged, until the one person she cared about was kidnapped by a particularly vengeful goddess with a plot to overthrow the gods. Can Sophia save Melina and warn the gods before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, people! I'm Writermagnet! This is my first Percy Jackson Fanfiction, so cut me some slack! Well, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! ALL CREDITS GO TO RICK RIORDAN. If you really like what you read, follow me on Twitter writersmagnet! Until then, keep on writing! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

"Don't forget that your essay on 'The Effects of Racism in World War II' is due on Friday!" Mrs Smith yelled over the dismissal bell. I grabbed my pile of books and hurried out of the classrom. Melina, as usual, was waiting for me, casually leaning against the locker beside mine.

"Hey," I said as I entered my locker combination.

"Hey," she replied, tossing her long dishwater blonde hair over her shoulder. "Whatcha doin' after school?" I rolled my eyes, placing my history book into my backpack. I

"Don't be stupid. We can't go to the movies today. We have musical rehearsal and-"

"Ditch, dude," She cut me off. "Holtzweier won't kill us if we miss a day. Besides, she's probably going to be paying attention to that new kid. You know, the weird one who sings really good? She probably won't even notice we're gone. Come on. Please?"

I closed my locker door and turned to my best friend. She was wearing her black North Face sweater and some jeans. Her green Converse were covered in mud, and her hazel eyes were pleading.

"I'm not missing rehearsal," I said defiantly, my decision final.

"Come on," she sighed. "God, rehearsal is boring. It makes English look interesting, and I can't even read the words on the board!"

I grabbed my best friend by the arm and dragged her all the way to the auditorium.

I knew she was lying about hating rehearsal. Melina and I are both natural actresses, and we love the performing arts. Lately, something's been off about her. She loathes rehearsals, and everytime she's there, she's jumpy, like she's expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. I know it's not her ADHD; she's never like this in class. When asked to read a line by Mrs. Holtzweier, she freezes up, and her dyslexia gets so bad that she can't even attempt to read the script. I've been trying to get her to fess up about what is bothering her, but she stubbornly won't spill.

We reached the auditorium. It was a huge room and nearly took up a forth of the entire school. The walls were a deep chocolate brown with the chairs circling the stage in semi-circle rows. The stage was brightly lit; the stage lights were on, and the polished wooden floor upon the stage gleamed.

Mrs. Holtzweier stood on the stage, facing Melina and me. I could feel Melina stiffen. Something didn't feel right. I glanced at the clock on the wall. 3:20. The room should be packed with the cast from the musical by now

"Sophia.." Melina said warningly, practically whimpering. I shot her a glare.

"Mrs. Holtzweier, was rehearsal cancelled?" I asked, my voice echoing throughout the ampitheatre. Mrs. Holtzweier jumped off the stage with surprising grace for someone her age. She was an old lady, wearing a mauve blouse with a matching skirt. She strode toward me, eyes studying us hungrily.

"Silence, half-blood," she said. Half-blood? Whoa, what?.

Mrs. Holtzweier cackled and shimmered as she walked. Her thin frame became bulkier, turning red. She grew an extra two arms. Not arms. _Paws._ She grew a scorpion tail, and her teeth extended, turning into sharp triangles. I froze, unable to move.

"SOPHIA! IT'S A MANICORE! " Melina screamed. I hadn't realized that I'd let go of her until she pulled on my arm. Weren't those things not supposed to exist? Weren't they Greek myths or something? I pshed those thoughts aside. I could worry about that later. "The tail shoots poisonous spikes! We learned about them in Greek today! We have to go before-" The manticore tshot a spike at me. I dodged, the spike hitting the wall behind me. My mind was on overdrive. A plan formulated in my mind. A crazy plan. One that could easily get us killed.

"Mel, follow me. I got a plan," I yelled. I ran as fast as I could, Melina closely behind me, and the manticore tailing behind her, throwing spikes as it cursed in Greek. How'd I know it was cursing? I don't know, and now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

I ran to the backstage door, ripping it open. I led the manticore through the twists and turns of the corridors for about ten minutes, eventually losing it in the maze of hallways. I ran into the principal's office. I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and began working on the lock on one of the drawers in the desk.

"What's your plan?" Melina asked wheezing. Her face was twisted in pain. She reached into her pocket for her inhaler, but it wasn't there. She frantically searched all of her pockets, even the ones in her sweater. She was having an asthma attack.

A spike shattered the window of a nearby classroom. The manticore was coming. I heard the familiar _click _of the lock and the drawer popped open. I pulled out a handful of various objects teachers managed to confiscate from students. My fingers flew, remembering the things I'd learned off the Internet. I never did get around to trying them, but it was this or nothing. Besides, I didn't have a better plan.

"Melina, calm down. Ok? Now sit down-" Melina's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she passed out. I knelt beside her, my fingers doing their own thing as I checked her breathing. Her breathing was ragged and uneven.

_Ok, Sophia. Calm down. _I urged myself. _ Panicking isn't going to help anyone._I held up a tiny cube I'd made and examined it. Another window shattered, this one from a window across the hall. The manticore spotted me and grinned I quickly prayed to whomever was hopefully listening that it would work. I grabbed the little wire cube and waited for the right moment.

The manticore opened the door and approached me. It eyed unconscious Melina and laughed.

"I shall feast on demigod flesh tonight," the manticore murmured happily.  
_  
Ok, Sophia. You have one shot_.

I threw the cube at the manticore and turned around, shielding my head . The bomb detonated and the manticore exploded, screaming. I grabbed the phone off the desk to call 911, but I heard footsteps. I froze. Another manitcore? Or was it something more vicious? I saw a familiar face down the hallway and nearly laughed in relief. It was George. He ran down the hallway and into the principal's office

'Sophia, are you- Oh gods, Melina," he said frantically as he scanned the room. The walls were charred from the mini explosion, and I probably looked terrible. "Sophia, your leg.." I glanced down at my leg to find a manticore spike embedding in it. I hadn't felt it because of the adrenaline, but now I felt the poison coursing through my body. I faltered, and he ran beside me to steady me. "Easy there, princess." He sat me down and gave me this sort of brownie like thing from his pocket. "Here. Eat this. You'll feel better." I took a bite. The poison subsided, and he pulled the spike from my leg. He walked over to sit beside my unconscious friend. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled a little vial full of a honey-like liquid. He opened Melina's mouth and fed her some of the liquid. I watched as her breathing steadied, and she sighed in her sleep. He cleaned out my leg wound with the rest. I watched as my cut healed.

"Wow," I said. "What is that-"

"We need to go," he demanded. "You and Melina. Now."

"Where?" I asked, skeptical. "I mean, this manticore thing-"

"Wait, it was a _manticore._Oh, this is bad. Very bad," he babbled, freaked out.

"-shouldn't it not exist?" I continued, totally lost. "I mean, mythology was just what people thought before science-"

"Not now," he interrupted. He lifted Melina in cradle position. He must've been twice his weight (he was pretty skinny) and yet, he held her without strain. Adrenaline, I suppose. "Go ahead and signal a taxi."

I was reluctant to leave him and Melina alone and unprotected, but I rushed outside. I did the best New York taxi whistle, and a taxi was beside me within a minute. I dived into the taxi. After a couple seconds, George rushed outside and sat in the back seat beside me, placing Melina on his lap and began stroking her hair.

"Where to?" the driver asked. George replied before I could even open my mouth.

"Long Island Sound. Right by the strawberry fields," he told the driver. "Step on it."

The taxi lurched forward. I turned to George who was absentmindedly stroking Melina's hair.

"What's going on?" I whispered. "Where are we going?"

George hesitated. "I'll explain everything when we're there."

I nodded, hoping I'd get a better explanation when we got there, wherever 'there' happened to be.

**Just letting you all know, this will be a trilogy! Flames are welcome! It's fairly cold over here, and they warm me up!**


	2. Chapter 2

During the entire taxi ride, my thoughts wandered. We got attacked by a manticore. Aren't those things Greek myths? If so, aren't they not supposed to exist? And Mrs. Holtzweier had called us 'half-bloods'. What in the world was a half-blood? Thoughts like these buzzed around in my head, interrupted when I heard George cursing.

"What happened?" I asked, my question quickly answered as I looked down at Melina. Her breathing was ragged again, but it was because she had a spike in her back that we hadn't seen earlier. The poison was killing my best friend, and George was muttering something in another language. Each time he finished, the cut glowed, but there wasn't any change. The spells he must've been doing took a lot out of him for he was sweating and shaking.

"Dude, don't exert yourself," I said. "If the spells aren't working, then maybe when we get to wherever we're going, we could take her to a hospital or something." He sighed.

"I know," he replied. "But I'm scared that she won't even make it there." A moment of silence passed between us. I looked to my right and saw a strawberry field. My stomach rumbled.

"Stop here!" George told the taxi driver. The car jerked to a stop. George tossed the driver a wad of cash. We exited the car, George staggering under Melina's weight. Those spells really must've weakened him.

"Here," I said as I took my best friend from his arms. She was naturally really skinny, and I was about twice her weight. George weakly smiled in thanks. "Do you see that pine tree? The one on the hill?" I scanned my surroundings and nodded. "Run up there with Melina. Go up to the nearest person and tell them to get Chiron. Tell them to hurry. Once you meet him, tell him everything. Especially Melina's condition and your leg. Ok?" I nodded. "Go!"

I ran as fast as I could. Melina groaned in her sleep as her head kept banging my arm. I ran to the nearest person who happened to be a girl. She looked like a typical California girl, with curly blonde hair and tanned eyes were a deep, stormy grey that seem to analyze my strengths and weaknesses, like lazers that saw right through you. She looked down at Melina, whose breathing has slowed and her skin tinged green.

"Oh gods," she said. "I'll go get Chiron. Come with me." She ran faster than I could to a huge house at the center of the camp. We barged in, apparently interrupting some sort of card game.

"Chiron!" the girl screamed. "The new arrivals-"

A man in a wheelchair quickly cut the girl off. "Annabeth, you have done your job. By the looks of this girl, she has a long story to tell me. Go to archery and take over the class. I'll be there in a second." She nodded and left.

"Hello, Sophia," Chiron said. How did he know my name? "Your friend here..manticore poison?" I nodded. "Here, I'll take her." I gave my best friend to him and he lay her down on the couch. He slowly took her shirt off and turned her over, exposing the cut on her bare back. He went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit. He opened it and pulled out a large vial of the honey-like stuff that George used on my leg. He cleaned the wound out with it, and thickly bandaged it. Melina moaned in her sleep. He placed the vial on a sidetable and went to another room. He came back with a bowl full of this yellow creamy oatmeal looking food. He flipped Melina over.

"Here," he told me, giving me the bowl. "Feed her this. I'll be right back." I slowly opened my best friend's mouth and absentmindedly fed her the oatmeal stuff. Chiron came back after a minute. "Your best friend is weak. Let her rest. Meanwhile, come with me. We have much to discuss." He led me to the kitchen and we sat at a table opposite of each other. "Sophia, tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out." I told him everything, from musical rehearsal, to the bomb I made, to George. I finished, crying. "It's alright," he said, comforting me. "Have you figured out why you are here?" I thought for a couple of minutes.

"I'm a half-blood. Half human, half god. Greek myths exist," I replied simply. The news should've shocked me, but it didn't It felt normal, like it was something I'd known all along. He nodded.

"Your ADHD? Those are what save you in a battle. They are your reflexes. Your dyslexia? Your brain is hard-wired for Ancient Greek, not English." He looked me in the eyes. "Do you know who I am?" I racked my brain.

"Aren't you Hercules's trainer? The son of Kronos?" He looked around nervously. "Don't throw those names around. But yes, I am the original Chiron." His upper body exapanded, revealing a lot of white from the waist down. A hoof came out, and another, and another, and another. Chiron was a centaur. "I will place Annabeth in charge of giving you a tour of the camp. Come. Let us find her."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I don't own anything (even though I want to). All right to Rick. Love you all! Follow me on Twitter Writermagnet! Until next chapter, keep on writing**

After the tour, I went back to the Big House to check on Melina. My best friend was now lying in a bed instead of a couch. I sat in a chair beside her bed and put a hand to her neck, feeling for her pulse. Though it was still weak, it was stronger than it had been earlier.

Melina was more than a friend to me. I was an orphan, found on the doorstep on an orphanage. No one wanted me, no one would adopt me, no one even cared about me. They'd rather just have me die or something like that. Creepy things also happened to me, especially when I was mad, and people were scared of me. Melina was the only person who accepted me, who sort of adopted me. Her mom was abusive and did drugs ever since Melina's father had left them. Melina was only three years old at the time. She was beaten to a pulp nearly every day. She wore long sleeved shirts to hide the bruises that discolored her ivory skin. We were inseparable and we did everything together. She was the sister I never had, and I couldn't bear to see her suffer like this.

A tear slid down my cheek as I kissed Melina on the forehead; a total sisterly kiss. "Hey sis, hang in there for me. Alright?" I murmured. I looked around the room as I remembered the tour of Camp Half-Blood. "I think we've found a new home." I just sat there, deep in thought for a while. I heard a cough behind me, and I saw Chiron. He came in while I was thinking, and I hadn't noticed him. He was in his wheelchair; the ceilings were too low for him to move around the house as a centaur, and he was scanning me, watching me with intent.

"Annabeth told me you'd be here," he said as I wiped my face.

"How much of that did you-" He cut me off.

"All of it. Don't worry, I know all about both of your-" He fumbled for the right word, "-_unfortunate_ pasts. Which parent is Melina's godly parent?"

"Her dad," I replied shakily. "He left when she was three. She barely remembers him."

"Hm. Well, Melina should be fine. She'll be in a little pain, and she shouldn't exert herself too much. Also, give her this." He tossed me an inhaler. It was her inhaler, the one she had been looking for before she passed out. "Tell her to keep it close. Come. Let us find you a weapon." I nodded and followed, sneaking a backwards glance back at my best friend as we left the room.

The armory was just a giant shack full of all sorts of weapons. Chiron, back in centaur form, opened the door, and I stood there, awestruck at the contents. There were weapons _everywhere._ Theyre were swords, knives, bows, guns, and every weapon you could imagine. The craftmanship on all of them was amazing and beautifully detailed. Chiron nudged me.

"Pick a weapon," he said, acting like it was the easiest thing in the world. There had to have been thousands of weapons in the shack. How could I pick the one that's right for me What if it's not even in here?

"How would I know which weapon is the right one for me?" I asked, confused. Chiron gave me a sort of sideways smile.

"You'll know. It'll feel right." I walked into the shack. I looked around, and saw a sword. The the hilt thin and sleek., and the blade a deathly black. I picked up the sword, only to find it too heavy. I put it back and grabbed something lighter, a nearby knife. It felt too small and light in my hand. Chiron trotted into the shack and tossed me a sword. I grabbed it out of midair. It felt perfect. It was about three feet long with a thinner blade. The hilt felt like it was made for my hand, fitting into every nook and crannie that my hand had, like it was made out of clay.

"This is it," I told him. Chiron smiled. "I thought so." He gave me the scabbard. "This sword has a bloody history that we needn't go into. It is a celestial bronze blade. With this blade, you can only kill monsters. It will not harm humans in any way. It will instead pass through them as though they were an illusion. They are simply not important enought for the blade to harm. You, being a demigod, may be twice as powerful as a regular human, but twice as vunerable as well since both celestial bronze andd mortal weapons can hurt you. The sword's name is αστραπή."

"Astrapi," I repeated. "'Lightning.'"

"The spectacular light within the dark of a storm. Now, the Hermes cabin has sword practice in a couple of minutes at the arena. Go with them. When Melina wakes up, I'll let you know." He trotted off. I put my sword in its scabbard and ran to the sword arena where training was about to begin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's another chapter! Love y'all! I do not own Percy Jackson! Like me? Follow me on Twitter as writersmagnet! Until next chapter, keep on writing!**

I hurried into the arena, and I found the Herme's cabin ready to start. My head counselor, Travis, came up to me, eyeing me curiously.

"Did Chiron give you armor?" he asked. I shook my head. He sighed. "I'll ask Leo to make you some. I think a size five will do." He turned to the other campers.

"Today will be a one-on-one sparring session because we have a new camper. Say hello to Sophia." He gestured toward me and I blushed, shyly waving as a chorus of _hi's _began. When the crowd settled down, Travis spoke again. "Ok, the first match will be Connor verses Sophia." I went to the middle of the ring as Travis's brother, Connor, approached me. I began analyzing him.

_Alright,_ I thought to myself. _I have the weight advantage, not the height. My sword is slightly longer than his_... My thoughts went on and on like this.

"You both ready?" Travis asked. We both nodded. "Then, begin." Travis lunged at me. I parred his strike and lunged a counterattack, aiming fof the chest. He blocked it easily and slashed. I easily stepped out of the way and flipped his blade over, causing it to fling out of his hands. I pointed the sword at his throat.

Stunned silence. I sheathed my sword. Then a loud round of applause.

"How'd you learn to do that?" Travis asked, amazed.

"I did fencing for a couple of years a while back," I replied. "No big deal."

"No big _deal?" _Travis echoed. "No one has _ever_ disarmed my brother that fast, except for Percy Jackson. You've got some serious talent there."

Travis placed me against everyone in the Hermes cabin. I beat al of them with ease. When I finished sparring a girl named Katie, I heard a cough from behind me. I turned to find Chiron. I sheathed my sword.

"Melina has woken up. Let us go." I followed him to the Big House. Chiron gave Melina and me some privacy as I entered her room. Someone had changed her into a clean Camp Half- Blood t-shirt and some jeans. When Melina saw me, she sat up.

"Ugh," she croaked. "What happened?"

"You had an asthma attack, and the manticore hit you with one of its spikes. You blacked out," I replied.

"How long was I out?"

"A couple of hours. You didn't miss anything important."

"Chiron explained this entire Greek myths thing. Looks like we're related." She smiled and I laughed. I never thought of it that way. "Chiron said I could leave at dinner."

"You sure you can move-"

"Yeah, Sophia. Don't freak. I'm not going to pass out or die or something." Oh gods, that better not happen. I'd kill myself. The manticore spike was already my fault. I hadn't checked her over throughly enough. If I'd seen it to begin with, maybe George could've cleaned it out with nectar and the poison wouldn't have been a problem. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

"You better, 'cause I need my best friend," I retorted jokingly. Melina got out of bed and paced the room.

"I still don't get it," she said. "There has to have been a reason the manticore targeted us out of all people. It pretended to be a drama teacher, got hired, and watched us for an extended period of time. That seems like a lot of trouble just for some demigod food. There has to be more to it." She winced and put a hand to her back. I hurried over, almost wincing myself. She was in pain because of me.

"Dude, all this can wait.," I said as I led her back to her bed. "You aren't in the condition to be worrying about this kind of stuff. Besides, if you do figure it out, you are in no shape to go and fight anything yet. Rest up. Heal. Then we can talk about Mrs. Holtzweier." She glared at me for a minute, then sagged in defeat.

"You're right," she said. She straightened. "But I'm still coming to dinner." Her eyes had that stubborn gleam of gold in them, meaning that she wasn't going to back down.

"Fine." She smiled. I fished in my pocket and tossed Melina her inhaler. She stared at it in amazement.

"How did you-"

"Chiron gave it to me. He told me to give it to you when you woke up," I answered, cutting her off mid question. "Kinda strange." Melina nodded in agreement. A conch shell sounded in the distance. It was time for dinner. Melina got out of her bed and we went to the dining pavilion.

Dinner was uneventful. What was interesting was what happened after dinner.

"Now," Chiron was saying. "Today is Friday which means war games. Today's game will be Capture the Flag. Right now, the Athena cabin currently holds the laurels." There was a chorus of cheers from the Athena table. Chiron waved his arm and armor appeared on the tables. "No maiming. All magical items are allowed. Whichever team can capture their opponents flag and cross the boundary with it first wins. Help yourself." Everyone got up and began rushing to the armor. I turned to Melina.

"You should head back to the cabin. You're too weak-" She cut me off

"Don't give me any of that. I'll be fine." She smiled. "Besides, I've got a pretty wicked swordfighter watching my back." She nudged me knowingly. How did she find out about that?

"It was nothing," I muttered modestly. She laughed.

"Nothing? _Nothing?_ Sophia, you practically beat them all with your eyes _closed_." I rolled my eyes as I adjusted the straps to her armor. I didn't know how I knew how to do it, but my hands just flew as if they had a mind of their own. I quickly strapped my armor and grabbed Lightning, attaching the scabbard to my armor. Melina grabbed a knife and we ran over to Travis. The Athena cabin decided to team up with the Hermes cabin, the Hephaestus cabin, and the Apollo cabin. Our entire team was circling around Annabeth as she reviewed the battle plan with us.

"Anyone have any questions?" Annabeth called. There was an empty silence, interrupted by a familiar voice. _Melina's _voice.

"I do," Melina replied, raising her hand shyly. Melina walked up to her and took the pad that Annabeth had written the battle plan on. Melina pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled a rough battle plan, talking as she did.

"Ok, how about we place the archers in the trees. This will cause momentary confusion. While this is going on, the Hephaestus kids with their Greek fire.." Melina went on for about ten minutes. Annabeth took the pad and scanned the battle plan.

"Wow," she said. "This...this is perfect! A strategy worthy of Athena herself. But how..." She looked at Melina in awe.

She shrugged her shouldersnonchalantly. "It just seemed right." Annabeth highlighted the plan one more time to make sure everyone understood. Leo, the head of the Hephaestus cabin, gave us six jars of Greek fire bombs.

"Be careful with those," he said, winking. "We don't want two _fine_ girls getting shish-kabobbed."

We nodded out heads and quickly ran to clearing by Zeus's Fist.

"Hey, Mel," I said as I reached the clearing. "Where were we supposed to plant them again?"

"Underneath the trunk of those six trees," she replied, quickly pointing to the trees as she planted one of the bombs. When we finished, we began walking back to our flagpost, Melina and I cracking jokes as we walked. Suddenly, Melina stopped dead in her tracks.

"Do you hear that," she whispered. I strained my ears to listen. There was a loud, high pitched squawking noise from the distance. It was coming closer. I drew my sword, and Melina drew her knife. We could see birds in the distance. The birds looked like they were made of bronze. They had large, curved metal beaks, perfect for eating sunflower seeds and demigod flesh. They were shooting little pinpricks of something at us, but I couldn't tell what it was. One of the projectiles got close enough for me to see.. It was a feather. A _bronze _feather. There were about ten birds in total. Melina and I exchanged terrified glances. Oh gods, this would be interesting. One of the birds began attacking Melina, and she quickly dodged. She kept trying to stab it, but the feathers must act like some sort of exoskeleton for her blade seemed to bounce off harmlessly. I ran over to help Melina, only for three birds to attack me at once. I quickly sidestepped at the first one lunged at me. I stabbed it in chink of armor in its belly. The bird dissolved. I kept fighting, but more of them kept coming. My shirt was in ruins, and half my skin was peeled off. Adrenaline kept me from feeling any pain, but I knew we were going to have some nasty cuts after this

"Melina!" I yelled. "RUN!" We both ran as fast as our feet could take us. We reached a tall cliff that fell into a river. The birds were closely behind us. There was no possibly way to turn back. I looked at Melina. "Either we stand and fight, or jump about ten stories to our death. Your choice." Melina nervously looked over the edge of the cliff. She took a deep breath.

"Let's jump for it."

And she and I dived ten stories to our inextricable death.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Another chapter! Again (and I'm getting tired of saying this) I DO NOT OWN RICK RIORDAN! You like what you read? Follow me on Twitter as writermagnet! Until then, keep on writing! Reviews are ALWAYS welcome!**

We hit the water. Hard. Neither I nor Melina felt any pain. The birds simply dove after us and grabbed Melina by the hair. Her face contorted in pain as she tried to fight off the birds with her knife.

I became angry. _Really_ angry. These stupid birds were hurting my best friend and they wanted to eat her demigod flesh. Melina had been through a lot today. I am _not_ going to add 'kidnapped by flesh eating birds' on the list. I felt my anger being fed to the water, churning the water.

"ENOUGH!" I screamed at the birds. The birds let Melina go and turned to me, only to find a water spout emerging from the river, wrapping the birds in its tendrils. The water spout pulled the birds into the lake and drowned them. Melina stared at me in awe, her wet hair covered in blood from the intense hair pulling the birds were doing.

"I-i," she stuttered. "I _felt_ that. I was the one who channeled your anger into the water. I controlled the water spout." The hydrokinesis took and abundance of energy, and I was having trouble staying awake. "Oh, no you don't," she said as she swam toward me, shaking me. "Not until we get back to our cabin." She splashed me with some water. That jolted me awake. I looked around to find the water stained with blood. _Our_ blood.

"Melina," I murmured. "You're hurt-"

"We're both hurt," she said as she cut me off. "Come on. Let's get out of the water." She turned around to find Annabeth emerging from the woods. She was looking at something above our heads and screamed something in Ancient Greek that I couldn't pick up. The entire camp quickly regrouped by Annabeth. They were all talking at once. Chiron quickly came up front, and looked at something above our heads before also muttering something in Ancient Greek.

"Girls," he said. "Look above your heads." We looked up and saw two glowing green tridents. Our father was Poseidon, Lord of the Seas. It made sense in my drowsy mind because it explained all the weird happenings at the orphanage. Chiron glanced at us again, this time scanning us closely. He turned to the crowd.

"Clarisse, Annabeth, Percy, get the girls out of the water. They're wounded. Will, go get the ambrosia and nectar. Hurry!" Chiron screamed the last word with such power that the crowd immediately dissapated. Percy helped Melina out of the water, while Clarisse and Annabeth pulled me out . By now, I was barely conscious.

"Oh gods," Clarisse muttered, unstrapping my armor. She slid me out of the heavy suit and put it aside. I heard a small squeal from Annabeth. My cuts must've look terrible. Chiron approached me, wincing as he saw my condition.

"Sophia," Chiron asked, concerned. "Can you feel anything?" I didn't have the energy to shake my head so I weakly waggled my finger. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Percy washing the blood out of Melina's hair. Another boy, probably Will, was tending to Melina's wounds. Annabeth was filling her scabbard with water and washing some of the blood off my legs. I was fighting hard to stay awake. Chron was studying my wounds, trying to piece together what happened.

"Blink once for yes, blink twice for no. You and Melina were attacked," he said as though it were obvious. I blinked once. "By flesh eating birds." I blinked again. "You ran when you realized you didn't have a chance." I blinked. "You jumped off the cliff into the water." I blinked yet again. "The birds grabbed Melina by the hair, you got mad, and you summoned water to grab them and drown them. Melina helped you. And now you are drained from the effort." I blinked one final time.

"Annabeth, Clarisse, take her to the infirmary. Wash her wounds out with nectar and bandage them. Let her rest. She obviously needs it. As for Melina..." He took a quick glance at her. Percy was unstrapping her armor so Will could get to the other wounds. "I think she's in good hands with Will. Just tell him to send her to the infirmary when he's done. Percy, meanwhile, should make room for two more campers.I have important matters to discuss with Mr. D. We have to figure out who summoned the Stymphalian birds into camp. Do what I've asked. Quickly." Clarisse picked me up like I was a sack of flour. "Come on, Wise Girl," she told Annabeth. I blacked out shortly afterwards.

I woke up in a bed, feeling terrible. I tried to sit up, only to have someone put a hand on my chest, stopping me from rising further.

"That isn't a good idea," a familiar voice said. It was Annabeth. "Here." She slowly propped me up on the bedframe. My blurry vision cleared after a minute. Annabeth was sitting at the end of my bed, obviously deep in thought.

"Thanks," I croaked. She turned to me, her eyes staring deep into mine. She cursed at herself in Ancient Greek.

"I'm an idiot," she stated calmly. I guessed that wasn't the easiest thing for this daughter of Athena to admit; she acted like the words had a bitter taste in her mouth. "You being the daughter of Poseidon; it makes sense. You have Percy's green eyes. Why didn't I see this earlier?" She went silent again, obviously seething.

"How long was I out?" I asked, scanning the infirmary for my sister. It was empty. Annabeth snapped into reality.

"About two days. Chiron wouldn't let anyone wake you up, and I don't blame him. I saw what you did with the water. Being unpracticed, you'd obviously need lots of rest after that. I was surprised you kept your eyes open for as long as you did. And I know you were going to ask about Melina, so I'll get it over with; she's fine. Her wounds were easily fixed with a little nectar and ambrosia. She refused to leave your side, but Chiron made her go to regular lessons. We didn't know how long you'd be out for, and we didn't want her to stay by your side for a week or something. It's not healthy" I agreed with her and I was relieved that Melina was alright. She used to be my best friend, but now she was my sister, and even though we were only ten months apart, I treated her like my little sister. I felt pretty protective of her.

"Chiron told me about your past," Annabeth said. "You aren't the only person who felt unloved. I ran away when I was seven. No one wanted me at my house. My dad acted like I was a burden, my stepmom thought I was a freak. I got the message. I ran away. Athena sort of guided me to help, and I met a couple of friends who helped me get here. I know the feeling of being totally hated and unwanted by everyone. You're not alone." I was surprised by what Annabeth was saying. She must've trusted me a lot to tell me this. Annabeth looked at me, her grey eyes glassy. I held out my bandaged arms and we hugged, her face buried in my shirt. Annabeth must've shed a tear or two because my shirt was a little wet when she pulled away. The door to the infirmary opened and Percy walked in, holding his sword in his hand. He touched the tip of his sword and it shrunk into a pen. Gods, I wish my sword could do that. He put the pen in his pocket and looked at Annabeth. His face softened.

"Annabeth, don't cry," he murmered as they hugged. Annabeth was shaking, her body wracked with sobs. Percy stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead. "It's alright, I'm here... " He began muttering reassuring nonsense to Annabeth. After a minute, her sobbing slowed. She steeled herself up and looked at Percy. She kissed him, and he kissed her back. It started to turn into a make-out session which was not something I wanted to see.

"Annabeth, Percy, get a room!" I exclaimed, jokingly shielding my eyes. "Gods of Olympus, I may be wounded, but I'm not blind!" They pulled away from each other, blushing.

"I'm alright, Seaweed Brain," she said, her face red. "I just had a weak moment. I'm heading to archery practice." She punched him in the stomach and began walking toward the door.

"I'll miss you, Wise Girl," he called after her. She grinned.

"In your dreams, Seaweed Brain." She left the infirmary. Percy turned to me.

"Looks like you're my sister," he said. He sat down at the end of my bed and extended his hand. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. And you are...? "

"Sophia Holt," I replied, shaking his hand.

"I've met our other sister, Melina," he said. "She picked her weapons today. Her preferred weapon was a sword, but she also got a knife. Her sword is called σεληνόφωτο."

"Selenofto," I repeated. "Only Melina would get a sword called 'Moonlight'." Percy laughed.

"You've got a point. She also got a knife which is called αστέρι."

"Asteri," I repeated. "Seriously, 'Star'? Gods, what did she name her armor? 'Midnight'?" Percy cracked a grin.

"You are _totally_ my sister!" he exclaimed happily."We are going to get along fine! Oh, and by the way, Leo has your armor ready so when you have time, go and pick it up, preferably before sword fighting practice. Speaking of sword fighting, I heard you beat the entire Hermes cabin single handed." I groaned. How many people knew about that?

"Everyone acts like it a big deal," I said. "I just took some fencing lessons a couple of years back. It doesn't take Athena to convert that into real swordfighting." Percy laughed again.

"I'll bet Athena could put that entire concept in a mathematical equation so complex she could blow up Tartarus with it. But honestly, that _was_ pretty impressive. Especially for someone who just came into camp. Someday you and I should spar sometime." It was my turn to laugh.

"Yeah right. That'd be a suicide match. I heard you're the best swordsman in like, a century." He absentmindedly put a hand to the pocket where his sword was. He looked at me and grinned.

"Looks like I might've found my match." I rolled my eyes. "By the way, when you get out of here, your schedule's on your bed. I am head counselor so you have to do everything I say."

"Yeah, right," I retorted sarcastically. "I am _so _going to listen to a head counselor whose head is full of kelp! I even have Annabeth to back me up on this statement!"

"You better listen to me if you want to learn to use your epic water powers!" Percy yelled as he left the infirmary. Melina entered immediately afterward, Star and Moonlight strapped to her waist.. He was in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was covered in sweat. She sat on the end of my bed.

"Phew! Swordfighting today was fun! You should've been there! Annabeth was teaching the class. She offered to help me learn to fight with Star. I'm not half bad at sword fighting!" She began to babble, her excitement emanating off of her. She really did love her classes. I tried to get out of bed, but Melina stopped me. "Oh no you don't!" she scolded. "You are still a bit weak, and I dont want you to pass out again." I rolled my eyes. I really did hate people treating me like I was fragile. I know they had good intentions, but seriously, it's not like I'm going to break if I move a finger.

"Whatever," I said, changing the subject. "So, are you okay? I mean, you _were_ wounded pretty badly too.

"I had a lot of blood on me, but the cuts were pretty minor. The worst ones were where the birds had taken out giant chunks of my flesh. You have more of those than I did and you are under orders to stay here and not exert yourself until at least breakfast tomorrow morning." I groaned.

"Really? You get to go learn about weapons, and I get to waste away here in this room because some birds were really hungry for demigod flesh. How unfair is that?" I acted indignant, but in reality, I was secretly glad Melina was alright. Besides, I haven't seen her this glad about something since ...well...scratch that. I've _never_ seen her this happy. Melina opened her mouth to say something, but Will walked into the room. He came up to my bed and gave me a glass of nectar. He turned to Melina.

"Annabeth wanted to see you in the swordfighting arena. She said she wanted to teach you how to use a knife." Melina nodded and left. He turned to me. "Drink the nectar. You'll feel better. I put some sleeping serum in it so you can rest. You really need it." I nodded and picked up the glass. I drank the nectar and was out like a light.


	6. Chapter 6

**Halla peeps! Again, I no own. You like-y what you read-y? Follow me on Twitter at Writersmagnet! Until then, keep on writing! Reviews are welcome!**

I was out of the infirmary the next day, a little sore but nothing too terrible. I walked over to the dining pavilion and took my place at the Poseidon table, sliding next to Melina.

"Hey," I said, smiling. She turned to me, and, as though she realized it was a mistake, she whipped her head back. I caught a glimpse of her pale face, marred by dark bags under her eyes. I glanced at Percy, who was sitting across from us. He mouthed the word _nightmares._ I pointed at a bench at the other side of the pavilion. We both got up and went over to that bench, well out of Melina's earshot.

"What nightmares?" I asked, concerned. Percy met my gaze with all seriousness. Annabeth was right; we had each other's eyes.

"Ever since she switched cabins, she's been having these terrible nightmares," he explained. "She wakes up screaming hysterically, sometimes more than once in a single night. She won't tell me anything but she constantly mutters something about someone coming to get her. I tried to reassure her that she's safe here at camp, but she doesn't seem to believe me. She now refuses to sleep at night, instead drinking a lot of coffee and Monster to stay awake." I was aggravated at myself for not being there when my best friend and sister needed help. I turned to Percy.

"Did she talk to Chiron about this?" I asked. He shook his head.

"She refuses to tell _anyone_ what is bothering her," he replied. "I was hoping you would be able to get it out of her."

"I'll try," I said, remembering last time I tried to get Melina to fess up about what was bothering her. "But trust me, she won't spill." He nodded and we went back to our table. Melina was sleeping, her head on the table. I put a finger to my lips, and Percy nodded. We tiptoed around Melina, careful to make no noise as we headed to the beach. Today was my first hydrokinesis lesson, and Percy thought working with actual saltwater was a better start than just plain water. We waded into the surf, and I immediately felt much more powerful. My worries seemed to almost dissipate, and I dived into the water, Percy shortly afterwards. I suddenly felt a tugging sensation, like I was a fish on a hook and someone was reeling me in.

_Hey, Sophia!_ he telepathically told me. _Where are you going? We have a lesson to take care of!_

_I don't know_, I replied. _I feel like I'm being pulled with me._ Percy obediently followed. After about an hour, we arrived in an underwater palace of some sort. It wasn't something I recognized, but I knew exactly where we were, and Percy's thoughts only confirmed my suspicion.

_Poseidon's palace._

I continued to follow the pull, until we entered a sort of throne room. It was make out of shells and beautiful crystals. I gasped at the beauty. On the throne in the middle of the room, a man sat. My father.

Poseidon had Percy's black hair and our green eyes. He was deeply tanned, and he had laugh lines around his eyes. In his hand was a glowing green trident. He was wearing a bright green Hawaiian shirt and some shorts. Percy bowed, and I followed.

"My Lord," I said, curtsying deeply. Poseidon laughed.

"Rise," he said. Percy and I slowly rose. "Don't do that again. I really hate formalities. A couple thousand years with them is enough to make a god tire of them. Perseus, Sophia, I brought both for a reason-" Poseidon was interrupted when a giant cyclops ran into the throne room into Percy, nearly knocking him over and grasping him in a hug.

"BROTHER!" the cyclops exclaimed. When the cyclops let go of Percy, Percy quickly mouthed to me _I'll explain later_. Poseidon flicked his trident impatiently.

"Tyson, how about you show your brother the forges?" he suggested. Tyson clapped his hands and grabbed Percy, quickly dragging him away. Poseidon turned to me, studying me intently. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. There was a long silence between us that I was itching to break, but I didn't know how. I felt like Poseidon was looking through me, at all the deep dark secrets I kept carefully buried in the depths of my consciousness. He finally spoke.

"You have your mother's hair. Her beautiful, auburn, wavy hair." I blushed and looked down at my feet. "That was some pretty good sword fighting you did. You beat the entire Herme's cabin, eh?" I groaned, and he laughed.

"Gods, do all the Olympians know about that?," I complained. "Honestly, it was nothing!"

"Nothing? Ares even admitted that was pretty wicked!" Poseidon replied. I know where Percy got his annoying personality. Like father, like son. Poseidon's demeanor quickly changed. "Listen, I know I haven't been much of a father to you or Melina," he said, voice full of regret. "I had an oath with my brothers, and we all eventually broke it. No children. I couldn't watch over you without acknowledging your existence, and Zeus would've vaporised both of you before you could say 'ambrosia'. I couldn't let that happen. To either of you." I shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. He slid off his throne and came face to face with me. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You and Melina both have hard tasks ahead of you. I've left two gifts beneath your pillow. I was going to give them to Chiron to give to you, but I never got around to it. Use them well." I nodded my head as Percy entered the throne room, Tyson tailing behind him. I turned to walk toward Percy, but Poseidon held me back. "And Sophia?" he asked. I turned around.

"Yes?"

"Take care of your sister," he said, his eyes pleading. I nodded my head. "And make me proud." He pointed his trident at Percy and me. A blinding flash of blue light, and we found ourselves on the shore on Long Island Sound, right beside camp. I then heard a familiar, ear- piercing scream.

"MELINA!" I yelled.

**Ooo! Bad cliffy! Too bad! You're going to have to wait until the next chapter! (I'm so cruel xD)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess what? Nothing. I'm just bored. Obviously I don't own PJ, though I'd love to. Anyways, you absolutely ADORE what I write? Follow me on Twitter at Writersmagnet! Until then, I love y'all and keep on writing!**

My thoughts were racing. Oh gods, please just let it be a nightmare. Don't let it be the person she's dreaming about. I tried to convince myself that it was only her nightmares, but I knew that wasn't true. She'd been kidnapped, and I wasn't there to help.

Percy and I rushed into the dining pavilion. Melina was glowing a deep gold, a hellhound on her back. She was trying to fight it off, but she didn't have Moonlight or Star. I drew Lightning, and Percy drew his sword. I swung my sword, but Melina disappeared in a gold mist before I could strike. Campers gathered at pavilion. I fell to my knees, dropping Lightning. I buried my face in my hands and began to cry. Percy put his sword away and put an arm around my shoulder. I was mad at myself for not being there. I shouldn't have let her sleep. I should've kept a closer eye on her, and now she was gone.

"Sophia, it's alright," Percy reassured. "We'll find her."

"What if we don't?" I retorted between sobs. "What if they kill her? I could never live with myself after that."

Chiron trotted into the pavilion, observing the scene. Percy stood up, grabbing my arm and pulling me up with it. I sheathed my sword. Chiron trotted to the center of the pavilion.

"Melina has been kidnapped," he announced. "Someone inside this camp is a spy. This person, whomever it may be, summoned Stymphalian Birds to attack Melina and Sophia during the Capture the Flag game and a hellhound to capture Melina just now. A thorough investigation will be done and we _will_ find this spy. Meanwhile, Sophia, Percy, come with me." I wiped the tears from my eyes and followed Chiron and Percy to the Big House. Percy and Chiron sat down. I, however, couldn't sit down, and instead was pacing.

"I am an IDIOT," I practically screamed, my hands ready to tug my hair out. "I should've stayed with her. I should've taken her dreams way more seriously. Maybe then, Melina wouldn't be in the mess she's in. Oh gods, what if they torture her? Or worse, kill her? This was her worst nightmare, _literally_, and I should've done everything in my power to protect her from it!" Chiron, back in his wheelchair, dragged me down to a chair.

"Calm down, Sophia," he said. "It is not your fault. Now, let us focus on what we _can_ do, verses what we _could have_ done. Tell me everything."

Strange, how he asked us to tell him what happened even though he obviously knew. He probably just wanted the details. I told the story, Percy adding details that I missed from time to time. Chiron nodded.

"I feel a quest is in order," he said. He turned to me. "You will lead this quest to find Melina. You can bring two companions. Do you know who they will be?"

"Percy and Annabeth," I said without hesitation. Percy's face hadn't changed, but his eyes were glazed over, like he was having a flashback. I had a feeling this wasn't Percy's first quest with Annabeth, but I also felt like there was more to it. LIke someone Percy had known was also kidnapped, and he had to go save that person. I'd bet all the money in my pocket it was Annabeth.

As if on cue, Annabeth ran in.

"Chiron-" She scanned the expression on our faces and probably guessed what was going on. SHe relaxed. She turned to me. "I just heard- Melina was kidnapped. She hadn't came to her sparring lesson and I was worried. Chiron, you issued a quest?" Chiron nodded.

"Sophia just chose you and Percy as her two companions. Do you-" Annabeth cut him off.

"I do," she replied. Her face hardened. "I'll go pack." She left almost as fast as she came.

"You must see the Oracle now," Chiron said. "Percy, go with her." He nodded and we left the Big House, my thoughts spinning, A quest? Was I even ready? Percy, almost like he'd read my thoughts, answered the question.

"You'll do fine," he said, his voice distant. "I was worse off when I had my first quest. Besides, you'll have me and Annabeth. If anyone can get us out of a sticky situation, it's Annabeth." We didn't talk the rest of the way to the Oracle. Percy stopped at an opening to a cave. He knocked on the rock, and someone opened the curtain. It was a girl with thick, curly, out of control red hair. She was pale, and her face was covered with freckles. She was thin and skinny, and she wore a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and faded blue jeans, both heavily stained with multiple colors of paint.

"Hey, Perce," she said. The girl turned to me. "Hey, Sophia. I knew you were coming. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Hi, Rachel," I said, not sure what to say to a girl who probably knew what I was going to say before I say it. Rachel looked from me to Percy.

"Quest, huh? Apollo told me. Poor Melina. Hope you find her! Anyways, as for the prophecy..." She trailed off and grabbed my shoulders, scaring me witless. Her eyes glowed green, and a green mist escaped her mouth, entangling Rachel and me in its tendrils. Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but it wasn't her voice. It was like three old lady Rachels were speaking at once.

"_You shall find yout friend deep in the West _

_A decision made shall cause unrest,_

_A lover's vow hung in the air,_

_A promise forgotten shall cause despair,_

_A curse untold should one beware,_

_And a secret hidden must be shared,"_

The second Rachel finished her prophecy, we both promptly fainted.

__**Ouch. That can't be too good. So, what did you think of my prophecy?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Halla! Well, y'all know the drill. Blah blah blah, me no own PJ, blah blah blah, follow me on Twitter at Writersmagnet, blah blah blah, keep on writing. ****Gods,**** that's awfully repetitive, no? Anyways, onward!**

I woke up to come face to face with Percy. He was looking down at me, his eyes concerned. He had a hand behind my neck, and another behind my knees. He was carrying me down the hill.

"Ugh," I croaked. "What happened?"

"You and Rachel passed out," he explained. "When she does a prophecy, she usually passes out, but sometimes, even the person she's holding faints. You've been out for a couple of minutes" When Percy reached the bottom of the hill, he carefully put me down. "You can walk okay?" he asked, studying me.

"Yeah, yeah," I told Percy. "I'm not a fragile little china doll. I am _very _capable of walking from one side of camp to the other." Percy laughed at my apparent sarcasm.

"You're funny," he said. "Race you to the Big House!" He dashed ahead, not looking back to see if I'd follow.

"So not fair!" I yelled after him as I sprinted to catch up. In the end, he did beat me. When I reached the door, he was bent over trying to catch his breath. We both stood there for a minute, catching our breath before we entered the Big House. Annabeth was sitting at a table opposite of Chiron. Percy took the seat to her right and put an arm around her. I sat to Annabeth's left. Chiron leaned forward expectantly.

"So, the prophecy?" he asked.

"Um..." Percy and I said simultaneously. We looked at each other, struggling to remember.

"'_You shall find your friend deep in the West_.." I tried, unsure. Percy clapped his hands.

"Yeah, that's how it started," Percy said. He racked his brain. "Then something like 'a decision made shall cause unnerve-'"

"'_Unrest_,'" I corrected. Annabeth raised her arms in frustration.

"You two are impossible!" she exclaimed jokingly. "How can you forget something like this!" Percy ignored his girlfriend's complaints.

"Something about a vow hanging in the air," he said.

"'_A lover's vow hung in the air_,'" I amended. "'_A promise forgotten shall cause despair_.'" I racked my brain to see if I could remember anything else. "Then something about bewaring a curse-"

"A curse untold should one beware!" Percy exclaimed, a gleam in his eye. "Then it went, 'And a secret hidden must be shared!'"

"Yeah, yeah!" I replied. Then I put everything together. "'_You shall find yout friend deep in the West,_

_A decision made shall cause unrest,_

_A lover's vow hung in the air,_

_A promise forgotten shall cause despair,_

_A curse untold should one beware,_

_And a secret hidden must be shared!'" _

"You sure that's it?" Chiron asked. Percy and I nodded. I glanced at Annabeth, who was obviously in deep thought. I could practically see the gears spinning in her head.

"_You shall find your friend deep in the West," _she repeated. "But where in the West? The West is pretty big." We all shrugged our shoulders. The line that bothered me was the last one. _And a secret hidden must be shared_. No. It can't be. Maybe it's another secret. It couldn't be mine, could it? Bad memories began to surface, and I quickly pushed them back. Chiron interrupted my thoughts.

"Sophia, are you listening?" he asked, annoyed. I bit my lip and averted my gaze.

"Sorry," I quickly apologized. He rolled his eyes.

"Now, as I was saying, you three are in for a challenge. One child of the Big Three going on a quest is already a huge beacon. But two, and three if you find Melina, as well as a very powerful daughter of Athena, you'll have monsters practically at your tail. And much larger and more powerful ones as well." He turned to me. "Sophia, that manticore? That was minor compared to the monsters that you will meet outside these boundaries. Those birds? Fish bait. You'll face many dangers. Are you up to it?" I gripped the hilt on Lightning. I was scared, but I had to do this. I'm in charge of this quest, and I am the leader. I will _not_ let my quest fail just because of some monsters.

"I am," I replied confidently. "When will we leave?"

"At dawn," Chiron said. "Dawn is always a good time to begin a journey. Now, Percy, Sophia, go pack. And Sophia, don't forget to get your armor from the Hephaestus cabin." I nodded, and we all left to our cabins. Annabeth and Percy held hands, and I could tell they wanted some alone time.

"Um guys," I said. "I'll go pick up my armor. See you later!" I ran to the Hephaestus cabin and knocked on the door. Leo opened the door. He looked like a typical Mexican guy. He had tanned skin the color of the skin of an almond, and thick, curly black hair. He was totally covered in soot, and his hands were calloused from working long hours in the forges. He grinned when he saw me.

"Sophia, right?" he asked. I nodded. He ran a hand through his hair, reminding me painfully of how Melina would do the same move when her hair got in her face. I pushed those thoughts aside. This was not the time or place to start crying. Leo grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the cabin, leading me toward the forges. His siblings looked at me strangely, probably wondering what a daughter of Poseidon was doing in the cabin to begin with. Leo dragged me toward a table, where a full set of armor was. I gasped. It was a beautiful deep blue green with a silver trim. It reminded me of the ocean, with the moon gleaming on the ocean at night. In the middle, it had a tiny little diamond shaped with an intricately carved golden trident in the middle. It contrasted with the armor so well that I felt a suddent urge to touch it but refrained from doing so.

"I had fun making this," he told me. "Try it on." I picked the platebody and sild into it. Leo did the straps for me. He grabbed Lightning and slid it into a secret compartment where it was still easily accessible, but hard for others to see. He went and pulled a full length mirror out from behind the furnace, placing it directly in front of me. The armor looked as amazing on me as it did on the table.

"I made a secret compartment for a knife as well," Leo told me. "I felt compelled to do it, but it was a weird shape. I don't think any knife could fit into it. And watch this, press the trident in the middle." I put a finger to it, and the armor shrunk, folding, moving, and compacting into something really small in my hand. The armor changed into a beautiful silver trident necklace, and my sword returned to my hip where wit was usualy attached. "While you're wearing the necklace, if you, and _only _you, deliberately pinch the necklace, your armor will appear on your body. That way you could-" He was interrupted by me hugging him.

"Leo, this is _beyond_ amazing!" I exclaimed. "You must've worked so hard! Thanks so much!" Leo was surprised by the hug, but he immediately returned it. When we let go, I went to put the necklace on, but Leo stopped me.

"Here," he said. "Let me do it." I turned around, lifting my shoulder length auburn hair out of the way. He clasped the necklace for me. I hugged Leo once again_._

_"_Seriously," I said. "Thanks so much. I owe you." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"You don't owe me anything," he claimed. "I'm a son of Hephaestus. It's what I do. And besides, you look _fine_ in that armor." I rolled my eyes.

"Leo, I am _way_ out of your league!" I exclaimed, acting offended. Leo rolled his eyes.

"You know you want me!" he yelled as I headed toward door.

"Thanks again for the awesome armor!" I shouted as I closed the door to the cabin. I walked over to the Poseidon cabin. I peered inside, surprised to find the beautiful blue cabin empty. I could hear the shower running so I figured Percy was in there. Melina's bed sat next to his. It was messy and unmade. Her armor was on her bed, and Moonlight and Star sat neglected on her pillow. I walked to the edge of her bed and picked up Star. I unsheathed it, revealing a thick, foot long golden blade with a wickedly sharp tip. I examined the knife for a couple of minutes before sheathing it and putting it in her pocket. I grabbed Moonlight as well. If we find Melina, I planned to give her back her weapons. I looked down at Moonlight and was surprised to find a tear hit the hilt. Melina was not only my sister and best friend, but she was the only family I had. She was the only person who knew me inside out like an open book. With her being gone, it was like I lost the glue holding me together. I vowed then and there that I _would_ find Melina and bring her to safety, even if it costed me my life. I put Moonlight next to Lightning on my belt and went to the dining pavilion, where it was empty. I needed to be by myself.

I sat down at the Ares table. I closed my eyes and prayed deeply.

_Ares, if you're there, please give me strength. I need your strength to be able to lead this quest and overcome the obstacles in my way._

I moved to the Athena table.

_Athena, if you don't totally hate me for being Poseidon's child, please listen to my prayer. I need your wisdom and wits. I want to make the right decisions, not a stupid one that costs us all._

I did this process with all the tables, praying to each god or goddess.

_Artemis, send me your bravery so I don't cower away in the face of danger._

_Apollo, please let this prophecy not be as bad as it sounds. Protect us from injury._

_Zeus, send me your leadership. I know you probably don't approve of my father, but please, don't hold that against me._

The last god I prayed to was my father.

_Poseidon, guide me. Protect Melina. Please help me._

By now, I was crying, my face buried in my hands. Someone slid beside my and put an arm around my shoulder. It was Leo.

"Sophia, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. He sounded so sincere and honest that I just broke down, sobbing into his chest. He pulled me in and began stroking my hair.

"I'm just con-con_fused!" _I stuttered between tears. "I'm leading this quest with Annabeth and Percy to find Melina, and I'm scared. I don't know if I can do it. I'm afraid of making a mistake and everything going wrong because of me! I'm only fourteen! I can't be expected to lead something I have no clue about! I nearly died fighting those bird thingys. How in the gods am I going to be able to handle a larger foe?" I looked up at Leo. He brushed some pieces of hair away from my face.

"You'll do fine!" he assured me. "Listen, you're an amazing person, and I know I haven't known you for long, but you're brave, honest, sincere, and you have a pure heart. If you do something wrong, it'll always be for the right reasons. Percy and Annabeth will back me up when I say this, but none of them will blame you if something happens. And you _will_ find Melina. I just know it. Now, come on. Go wash your face. I'll walk you to your cabin."

We took the long way, passing by the beach so I can wash my face. I couldn't help but look at my reflection in the water. My green eyes had a haunted look in them, like I'd seen too much pain in my life. I guess those days at the orphanage really left a mark on me. It was bizarre though, to see a fourteen year-old girl's face, marred by eyes that have seen too much and known too much pain in life. Leo walked over and peered over my shoulder, trying to see what I'd been looking at. I jabbed a finger in the water, my reflection rippling.

"What were you looking at?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It's nothing," I replied. He didn't look convinced, but he let it go, figuring that I didn't want to talk about it. We skipped dinner. He led me to my cabin afterwards.

"Thank, Leo. For everything," I said. He scratched his head.

"It was nothing. Hey, if you ever need a pretty awesome Mexican dude, imma be chillin' in the Hephaestus cabin. Come any time." He grinned.

"Ok," I replied, ignoring the joke. "See you around!" I entered my cabin to find Percy sitting on his bed, reading a book. I never really thought Percy could read. The cover was in Ancient Greek. It was about powerful monsters in Greek mythology. It kind of made sense that he'd be reading it, since Chiron did hint that strong monsters would be tailing us. Still, Percy didn't seem like the book-reading type.

"Hey," I said, plopping myself down on the bed. His eyes flickered off the book for a second, then he chucked the book to the other side of the room.

"I don't get how Annabeth does it," he said. "I'm not even five pages in, and I'm bored to Hades." I laughed. Percy was a smart guy when he wanted to be, but for the most part, he was pretty obtuse.

"That's 'cause you have to actually _stick_ to the book, Seaweed Brain. And even _I _would be bored if I was reading a factual monster book!" I replied jokingly. He glared at me, a stare so intense I backed away from Percy. If looks could kill, I'd probably be awaiting judgement in the Underworld by now.

"Don't. Call. Me. That," he threatened. "Only Annabeth can call me that."

"Okay, okay," I said, terrified "No need to be pushy." He instantly changed demeanor.

"Sophia, did you pack?" he asked. I shook my head. Percy quickly tossed me a backpack. "Pack. Now." I caught the backpack and shoved some extra clothes, some water bottles, some canned stuff that Percy gave me. Percy tossed me a canteen of nectar and a large Ziploc bag of ambrosia which I promptly stuffed in there as well. I zipped the bag up and placed it beside my bed.

"Done!" I announced after a minute. Percy had watched me pack. He nodded his head.

"Good," he said. "Now we're ready for tomorrow." He looked at my face, scanning me much like Poseidon did. "You're exhausted. I call lights out. You need the rest." Before I could protest, he went up to the light switch and turned it off. I lie down in my bed, only to feel something hard under my pillow. Then I remembered Poseidon's gifts. I lifted my pillow to find a ring and a matching bracelet. I picked the ring up. It was a beautiful silver ring. It had gems around the band. A tiny trident was carved in it with some Greek writing on it. μεσάνυχτα. Mustanifta. _Midnight_. I pressed on the trident engraved in the ring. It turned into a knife. The blade was glowing a sky blue. The hilt looked like pure gold. I pinched my trident necklace, and my armor quickly appeared at my body. I put my knife in the compartment Leo had made for me. It was a perfect fit. I pressed the trident in the middle of my armor, and my knife promptly returned to my hand. I pressed the trident on the hilt of my knife to my finger, and the knife turned back into a ring. It fit perfectly on my ring finger on my right hand. I then examined the bracelet. It was a normal charm bracelet. A tiny note was underneath the bracelet which I picked up. Since it was in English, it took me forever to read, thanks to my dyslexia. When I managed to decipher it, the letter said:

**_This bracelet does two things. It teleports you to any place in the world within reason. If you wish to teleport, put two fingers to the bracelet and think of the place you wish to go. It does not work when in battle so you cannot teleport out of battle, and it only works if you've been to the place before. Use it well._**

The note didn't have a signature. I put the bracelet on, and before I drifted off to sleep, I whispered, "Thank you, Dad.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm not Rick Riordan. You couldprobably tell from my writing style. Anyways, follow me on Twitter at writermagnet and keep on writing! The quest for Melina begins...NOW!**

Percy did tell me about demigod dreams, and how sometimes, a demigod will dream about something that is going on in real life, like Melina and her kidnapper. Strangely, I've never had one until tonight.

Melina was on the floor in what looked like a cave, gagged and tied up. The room was lit by tiny candles. My sister's hair was a mess, and she was covered in dirt. She had a deep cut in her cheek, and dried blood covered her hands, probably from struggling to free herself of the ropes. Her body were covered in cuts, bruises, burns, and even whip marks, some of which were still bleeding. Her captors must've been hurting her. She looked directly at me, and I could see a stubborn gleam of gold in her eyes. I'd always known Melina had a will of steel, but I never knew how strong it was until now. They must've been treating her terribly, but she was not going to let her willpower crumble. She looked at me and then looked up. I followed her gaze and I could see that the wall was made out of dirt. That meant she was underground. She stared at me again, and her eyes darted toward the side. I followed her gaze again. In the wall, there was a small carving of a delta, one of the many confusing letters in the Greek alphabet. It glowed blue.

I looked at Melina again, confused. Why were both these things important? Melina shot me a desperate look, almost like she was urging me to remember something. The delta tickled a memory in the back of my mind, but I was having a hard time remembering. Melina shot me a gaze so steely it reminded me of the one Percy gave me when I called him Seaweed Brain. There was a message clearly visible in her eyes; _remember!_ I heard footsteps, and Melina's eyes widened in fear. Her eyes now betrayed one word: _GO!_ I closed my eyes and my dream changed into something much more pleasant.

Percy shook me awake. "Sophia," he muttered. "Wake up!" My eyes shot open, and I nearly drew Lightning. I realized it was only Percy and groaned, rubbing my eyes.

"Ugh," I complained. "Be a little nicer next time!" He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of bed.

"Go shower and change. We're leaving." I took the quickest shower of my life and threw on some clothes. I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. Percy was sitting on his bed, reading a fairly long note. I heard a knock on the door, and I opened it to find Annabeth standing outside. Her curly hair was in a ponytail, and her knife was strapped to her arm. She wore a baggy San Francisco Forty-Niners shirt and a pair of blue jeans. In her hand was a Yankees cap, a gift from her mother, and a backpack was slung on her shoulder. She stuck her head inside the cabin.

"Seaweed Brain!" she yelled. Percy jumped off the bed, drawing his sword, obviously startled. Annabeth and I laughed as Percy put his sword in his pocket.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. "Very funny. I'm absolutely _dying_ with laughter." We all left the cabin and headed toward the Big House. Chiron gave each of us a hundred dollars in mortal money, a pouch full of drachmas, another canteen of nectar and a huge Ziploc bag full of ambrosia.

"Use them well," he told us. He led us to the top of the hill. "We have a driver to take you to Manhattan. After that, you're on your own. Good luck." We nodded. Chiron had a somber look in his eyes almost like he was saying goodbye to people who would never come back. We entered the taxi, Percy on the end, Annabeth in the middle, and me on the other end.

I thought of Melina, tied up and covered in blood like I'd seen her. I knew she couldn't hold up for long. Eventually she'd either give in, or be hurt bad enough to lose her defiance. Oh gods, keep her safe.

My mind wandered toward the prophecy. _You shall find your friend deep in the West. _Gods, Annabeth was right. The West was huge! She was obviously underground, but that'd be even harder. Where would we start? _A decision made shall cause unrest._ Unrest? That can't be good. Was it a mistake I made? I'd kill myself if it was my mistake. _A lover's vow hung in the air. _What lover? What vow? Could it be Percy and Annabeth? Or maybe something totally different. _A promise forgotten shall cause despair. _ Again, what promise? An idea began to form in my mind, but I pushed it away. It doesn't necessary have to be my promise, does it? Maybe Annabeth's. Or even Percy's. I don't know. _A curse untold should one beware. _What curse? I had a feeling there was something I needed to know that was being hidden from me. Was that the curse? And the secret that was hidden that had to shared? Could it be that? My mind was spinning with thoughts, to the point where it actually hurt.

I don't know how long I was lost in thought, but Annabeth nudged me, bringing me back to reality.

"We're here," she said. Annabeth threw a wad of cash into the front seat, and the three of us exited the car. Melina and I lived in New Jersey, so I'd never been in Manhattan before. Annabeth and Percy exchanged glances. I could tell something important happened here in Manhattan. I heard murmurs of a battle, so I'd bet my money on that. We stood there in awkward silence for a couple of minutes, each of us in out own bubble of thoughts. I nudged Annabeth.

"So, where do we start?" I asked, cringing at the stupid question. Percy and Annabeth looked me like I was stupid.

"Let's just start walking," Annabeth concluded. "Things will fall into place." I lifted my hand to scratch my hair, when Annabeth grabbed my arm. She looked at my bracelet.

"That's a magical bracelet. So is the ring." She scanned me further. "And that necklace. Where'd you get them?" I must've murmured something really unintelligent because Annabeth and Percy broke down laughing. "No stupid," she told me. "What do they do?"

"The bracelet allows me to teleport anywhere within reason, except when I'm in battle. The ring turns into a knife. The necklace is my armor." She examined the bracelet closely.

"Can't you just teleport us to the West then?" she asked. I shook my head.

"I have to have been there before," I clarified. "But I can't teleport away from a fight either." I heard a roar coming from behind me. We whirred around, Percy drawing Riptide, me drawing Lightning, and Annabeth drawing her knife. Annabeth cursed under her breath.

"The Ismenian Dragon!" Annabeth yelled. The dragon shot some fire, and Annabeth dodged. Percy yelled a command, and a nearby fountain exploded, water spilling everywhere.

"Gods!" Percy screamed. "Annabeth, how do we kill it?!"

"Cadmus killed it. Never said how!" Annabeth dodged another fire blast, which Percy distinguished with a quick burst of water. Annabeth was trying to get under the belly of the dragon, maybe to a chink in the armor. I just stood there, confused on what to do. My battle instincts took over. Annabeth needed a distraction. I knew it was suicidal, but that didn't matter right now. I ran toward the dragon, jumping on its back. The dragon shook, trying to get me off it, but I had a strong grip. I climbed the monster until I was at its neck. I took Lightning and stabbed it deep into the dragon's eye. It screamed in pain, thrashing about while shooting fire. From where I was hanging, I could see Percy was covering for Annabeth. I stabbed the other eye, and the monster thrashed even harder, whipping me off of its neck and into a tree. I hit it hard, my head cracking against the back of the tree. I could see stars. Adrenaline prevented me from feeling pain, but I knew I was going to have a terrible headache later. I stood up shakily. Blood was coming out of the wound Annabeth had made in the dragon's stomach so that obviously wouldn't be the weak point. If it was, it would've disintegrated. I remembered the myth with Cadmus in it. I knew he had a hard time killing it so the weak point couldn't be something easy to get to. I watched the dragon for a minute. It shot another blast of fire, and the weak point made itself known. _The mouth._

With renewed vigor, I ran up to the dragon and jumped on it, grabbing the scales. The dragon tried to shake me off, but rather than loose my grip, I dropped Lightning. I pressed my other hand on the ring and Midnight appeared in my hand. I quickly climbed the dragon and sat on its mouth, holding onto its horns. I carefully slid down, one hand on a scale on the bottom half of the dragon's jaw. The dragon opened its mouth, shooting fire. I knew the only way to get into the mouth would be to stab it while it was shooting fire. I'd probably end up with terrible burns, but I had to kill this thing before it killed us. It opened its mouth to shoot fire again, and that's when I stabbed the roof of the dragon's hand shot through the flames, and the only thing I could feel was insane pain. It blocked everything out. The flames sputtered out as the dragon disintegrated, leaving a set of dragon teeth lying on the ground. I fell to the floor, landing on my feet. I winced at the impact and stumbled toward Annabeth and Percy, who stood there, staring. They had a couple of cuts, especially Annabeth, but they seemed fine. Annabeth was looking at me in awe, until she caught sight of something on my head.

"Sophia, you hit your head. Sit down," she commanded. I sat down on the grass, and Annabeth pulled a canteen of nectar out of her backpack and some bandages. She started with my arm. I looked down at it. The fire had burned away parts of my skin and totally blackened my arm. She washed the wound out with nectar, and I watched as the cuts shrunk.

"You're lucky you're a daughter of Poseidon," she said as she bandaged the healing wound. "If I had done it, I'd be lucky to still have an arm. Children of Poseidon have a sort of resistance to fire. They don't burn as easily." She finished bandaging my arm, then put a finger underneath my chin, tilting my head up. She gazed into my eyes for a minute. "You've got a concussion," she said after a minute. "I don't think it's too bad." She poured some nectar on her hand and washed a cut on my forehead with it. She poured some on the back of my head as well. I probably had a really bad cut there from hitting the tree. Annabeth gave me a couple squares of ambrosia. I ate one, and felt instantly better.

"Sophia," Annabeth asked uncertainly when she finished patching me up. "How did you know the mouth was the weak spot?" I shrugged.

"I figured it took a long time for Cadmus to defeat the dragon," I explained between mouthfuls of ambrosia. "So I wondered, if it was a chink in the armor, it would've been easy for Cadmus, but it wasn't. So what could've been so difficult to get to that he'd have a hard time killing it. And it just hit me." Annabeth nodded her head in understanding. Percy walked over. He tossed me Midnight and Lightning.

"Keep these close," he said. I tapped Midnight and it turned back into a ring, which I promptly slipped back on. I strapped Lightning to my waist. He gave me the dragon teeth, which I shoved in my pockets. "That was some pretty _awesome_ dragon slaying! You could've taken that dragon down single handed! Totally beast!" I blushed, looking down. He knelt down and kissed Annabeth. "You were even more amazing," he told her. Annabeth smiled, and they kissed again. I rolled my eyes. Gods of Olympus, why did I have to pick these two lovebirds to accompany me on this quest? I stood up.

"Come on guys," I urged. "We should start moving. We're losing time." They reluctantly broke away from each other. As we walked, I was silently praying that we wouldn't see a monster for a while. I was wrong.

My luck could only get worse.

**Ouch! That can't be good! So how'd you like my action scene? I personally had fun with it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Guess what? Another awesome action scene! (cue applause). Anyways, me no own Pj, and follow me on Twitter at Writersmagnet! Anyways, keep on writing!**

The three of us went to the New York subway, figuring that as of the moment, that was a better way to travel. We'd been walking for nearly an hour, and I was glad to sit down for a while. We bought tickets and hurried to catch the next train. The subway was nothing interesting. The grey walls and low ceiling made me slightly claustrophobic. The walls were covered with colorful graffiti which gave the place a sort of life, but besides that, it was blank and boring. The three of us sat down at a bench. Percy and Annabeth were planning what to do next, but I wasn't listening. I was staring at a nearby homeless guy. He didn't look special, but there was something about him that didn't seem right. The man looked me straight in the eyes, and I knew why he looked weird. He wasn't human. The guy began to slowly expand, getting bigger and bigger. I nudged Annabeth and drew Lightning. Percy and Annabeth turned to look at what I was pointing to. Annabeth and Percy cursed in Ancient Greek.

"Another monster?" Percy asked, aggravated. He scanned the subway looking for something, probably water. The subway was as dry as a desert. Annabeth and I watched it expand, trying to figure out what the monster was. The monster looked like a giant blue snake. The monster opened its mouth, revealing huge razor sharp teeth. They dripped with a green substance. Poison. And, as if that wasn't enough, the monster shot a column of flames at Percy, who neatly dodged. Yep, it just _had_ to breathe fire as well. Annabeth cursed again.

"The Ethiopian Cetus!" she screamed as we dodged another column of flames.

"Yeah, yeah," said Percy. "I don't care what it's called! Gods of Olympus, how do we kill it?"

"Wait, I'm confused," I remarked. "What does Ethiopia have to do with Greek mythology?"

"Sophia's got a point!" Percy screamed over another column of flames. Annabeth rolled her eyes as we dodged another set of flames.

"The name doesn't matter," she said. "Percy, your namesake killed it by showing it Medusa's head!"

"Yeah, well, I don't have Medusa's head anymore. We killed her years ago!" Percy yelled.

"Then we'll have to figure something else out!" I said, dodging a set of monster fangs. This monster was pretty merciless. It lunged at Annabeth, who neatly dodged and stabbed the monster in the eye. The monster roared, spitting poison everywhere. The green liquid sizzled on the asphalt. Gods, I don't want any of that stuff touching me. It must've hit Annabeth, and she moaned in pain. She switched hands, fighting with her uninjured arm. I grabbed Lightning and charged underneath, looking for a chink in the armor. I found one and stabbed the beast. It roared, spitting poison everywhere. Annabeth jumped on the monster's back, stabbing in random chinks between the scales. The besst whipped Annabeth off, and she hit the wall with a sickening _crunch_. Annabeth fell limply to the floor, blood coming out from a very bad head wound.

"Annabeth!" Percy screamed, and I could easily hear the concern and love in his voice. He ran toward her, leaving me to spar with this insane fiend. I tried to get the monster to pay attention to me so that it would ignore Annabeth and Percy. I looked around for something I could use as a distraction. I found a guitar case lying on the floor. Perfect.

"Hey, ugly!" I taunted, lifing up the guitar case. "You must really hate the name Perseus, huh?" The monster roared in anger, and that's when I took the oppurtunity. I grabbed the guitar case and chucked it at the monster's open mouth. It choked on the guitar case, poison flying everywhere. I then realized something. _Poison is a liquid_.

I raised my arms and closed my eyes. I felt a hard tug in my gut as all the poison responded to my command. I whipped my hands forward and the poison splattered all over the dragon's body. I grabbed Lightning and stabbed it in the beast's belly. The monster roared and disintergrated. I ran over to Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth looked terrible. Her usually tanned skin was paler than snow. Her breathing was ragged, and I cursed myself. I should've covered for her. Her blonde hair was covered in blood. Percy was feeding Annabeth small amounts of nectar. I grabbed Annabeth's backpack and rummaged through it, pulling out two rolls of bandages. I searched through my backpack and pulled out a T-shirt. I gave it to Percy. He was crying.

"Percy," I said, shaking him. His puffy green eyes met mine. "Listen to me. If you want to keep Annabeth alive, you're going to have to cooperate with me. I know this is hard on you, but we're going to have to move. And we're going to have to do it carefully. Let's find a cave or something nearby where we can have some shelter. Then I can get about to dressing her wounds. Ok?" Percy nodded. "Now listen, you're going to have to lift Annabeth in such a way that her head and shoulders are higher than the rest of her body. That's to reduce blood flow to the brain so she won't bleed as much." Percy lifted Annabeth by the armpits, hoisting her up. Not how I would've done it, but it works. "Ok, now, do you know a safe place where I can dress her wounds in peace?" He nodded, a slight smile on his face. I gave him my bracelet, which he put on. I held onto him, and he teleported us to what I hoped would be a safe place.

We appeared in a living room, scaring the living daylights out of a couple who was playing Monopoly on a table. A lady, probably in her forties with brown hair and blue eyes, saw Annabeth and gasped.

"Percy, I'm glad to see you, but what in Hades happened?" the lady asked. Percy looked at the lady and sighed.

"Mom, it's a long story-" I cut him off.

"Which we can tell later," I replied, eyeing Percy. He tossed me my bracelet which I put back on. "We have to tend to Annabeth first." Percy nodded and he led me to a room. He placed Annabeth tenderly on the bed. I put Annabeth in a sort of improvised recovery position, so her head was higher than the rest of her body. I turned to Percy.

"You still have the T-shirt I gave you?" I asked quickly. He nodded, showing it to me. "Give it to me." He tossed me the T-shirt. I grabbed my canteen of nectar and soaked the T-shirt in it until it was dripping wet. I gave him back the T-shirt. "Find the base of Annabeth's head wound. See if anything is in there, like sharp glass or something. If nothing's there, I want you to put the T-shirt on the wound and apply pressure. If there is, let me handle it." He hastily obeyed. I began bandaging Annabeth's other wounds. When I finished, I fed Annabeth some nectar. She was still pale, but was starting to look much better than she had earlier.

I looked up at Percy, who was still applying pressure. He'd been doing it for a half hour now.

"Percy," I told him. "You can stop. The wound's probably healed by now." He removed the blood soaked shirt, and I quickly looked at the wound, to find that there was almost nothing left of it. I took her pulse and was relieved to find it consistent and strong. Her breathing slowly reverted back to normal.

"Now what do we do?" he asked. He looked relieved to find Annabeth okay.

"We let her rest," I replied, tugging on his arm. "Come on. It's not healthy to just sit by her side. Besides, she'll be out for a couple of days or so." Percy kissed Annabeth's forehead. I grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the living room, where Percy's mom and another man were continuing their game of Monopoly. They stopped it when they caught sight of us.

"Gods, is Annabeth okay?" Mrs. Jackson asked. I nodded.

"She'll be fine," I replied, extending my hand. "I'm Sophia. Sophia Holt." Mrs. Jackson shook my hand.

"I'm Sally Jackson," she introduced. "And this is my fianceé, Paul Blofis." The man extended his hand. I shook it.

"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling. Paul returned the smile.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied. "It's always nice to meet one of Percy's friends." Percy and I exchanged uneasy glances. I put my hand behind my neck.

"Actually," I said, wondering how to break the news. "I'm Percy' sister."

**How will the family react to that? Poor Annabeth. Tune in next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! Writersmagnet here is not Rick Riordan, so I don't own anything! Oh my gods, I can't wait for The Mark of Athena! AHHHHHH! Have you guys read the first chapter? What happened between Annabeth and Athena that was so bad? And why are Percy and Jason going to fight? What is the Mark of Athena? AHHHHH! I think I might go insane!**

**Anyways, just letting you guys know, I'm ignoring the Roman Camp in this book. Leo and Piper exist, but Jason doesn't. I don't know if I'll add him later on in the story. I might, but he might be Greek instead of Roman. I'll have to think about that. Also, Percy still has his Achilles Curse. **

**Without further ado, here's Chapter 11!**

Percy and I shifted uncomfortably as we waited for their reactions. Sally didn't look surprised, but Paul looked totally confused.

"Wait, I thought Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades weren't allowed to have children until after the Battle of Manhattan last summer when Percy called off the Big Three pact," he asked, lost. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Guess he couldn't help himself," I replied, "because I'm here. I was claimed a couple days ago, and arrived at Camp Half-Blood like a week ago..ish."

"Where are your parents," Sally asked as we all sat down at the kitchen table. "They must be worried sick." I averted my gaze toward my feet and was silent for a couple of minutes, fighting back some emotions.

"I don't know who my mom is," I murmured, my gaze still on the floor. Sally put an arm around me.

"I'm so sorry-" she started. I cut her off.

"It's okay," I said, forcing a smile. "I've lived in an orphanage in New Jersey since I was a newborn. No one really wanted me because I was...well...different. A total loner, and the kids there weren't too nice either. I tried to stay away from the orphanage as long as possible by taking classes." I turned to Percy. "That's why I can swordfight. I took fencing since I was nine. And I took first aid since I was seven. That's how I knew how to deal with Annabeth. I'd been taking first aid since I was about seven." I fell silent, not wanted to delve any further. The more I talked about it, the more memories that began to surface.

"That's why Melina's so important to you," Percy murmured loudly. "She's the only person you've got." I nodded.

"Yeah," I muttered. I fell silent as Percy told them about the quest. I was in my own little battle in my graveyard of memories. Every time a memory surfaced, I just reburied it, only to find a memory twice as terrible to rise from the ground like a zombie. I tried to keep up, but eventually it was too much. My walls shattered. With my last burst of self control, I managed to say "I'm going to check on Annabeth." I walked briskly to the room Annabeth was in. I locked the door behind me and just broke down. Darker memories began to surface, ones I never wanted to remember. I rolled up my jeans to reveal a long, thin, whip mark; the scar of yet another terrible memory. I traced it with my finger, wincing as I remembered the searing pain and the crack that created it.

I've never told anyone about my memories, partially because I had no one to tell it to. I didn't tell Melina for I was afraid to strip her of her naivety. She had a sort of livelyhood about her, and I didn't want to be the one to take that away. I quickly rebuilt my walls and regained my self control, wiping my face from any tears.

I walked over to Annabeth's bed and examined her head wound more closely. Her skull didn't look dented, thank the gods. I was afraid of internal bleeding, but it didn't seem like it. I inspected her ears, mouth, and nose for even the slightest sign of internal bleeding. Since no blood was in any of those areas, it was safe to assue she didn't have any. I grabbed a nearby bowl (Percy and I had left one there in case Annabeth woke up with an urge to puke) and pulled out a plastic spoon from Annabeth's bag. I pulled out my canteen of nectar and my bag of ambrosia. I took a couple of squares of ambrosia and crushed them, turning them into crumbs. With the crumbs, I mixed some nectar until the consistency was a creamy liquid. I slowly opened Annabeth's mouth, clearing her airways. I slowly spoonfed her the iquid, careful not to choke her. By the time I was finished, the color had returned to her cheeks and her breathing was completely normal. I smiled. She was going to be okay. I cleared her airway and put her back in recovery position. I went back in the living room to find Sally, Paul, and Percy talking about something. As I got closer, Sally saw me and they all abruptly stopped conversation. They all smiled knowingly at me, and I returned it with a half smile and an arched eyebrow. I went to the table and sat down and we began talking about other things.

We eventually all got lost in the conversationn, me checking on Annabeth every hour or so to make sure she stayed stablized. It was about eight o'clock at night when I went to check on Annabeth again, only to find her stirring. She was about to wake. I ran over to the kitchen, where we were eating a late dinner.

"Percy," I said, excitement evident in my voice. "She's waking up."

**Annabeth is waking up! Woot! Finally! Keep on writing guys! Reviews are welcome!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Wazzup, peeps! Well, you know the drill. If you don't by now, then WHERE IN HADES HAVE YOU BEEN! Ahahaha, I'm hilarious, I know. Well anyways, heres Chapter 12!**

Percy bolted to the room. I hurried after him. When I entered the room, Annabeth was still stirring, waking up. Percy loomed over her, his hair falling in his face. I rushed to the other side of the bed. Annabeth slowly woke up, her gray eyes slightly unfocused. Percy kissed Annabeth's forehead, smiling.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," I said, smiling.

"You gave us quite a scare, Wise Girl," Percy remarked, his voice thick with love. Annabeth tried to sit up, but I stopped her, putting a hand to her chest. She winced.

"You're in a terrible condition to do that," I told her. "Until I can figure out how bad the concussion is, you can't sit up. I don't want you overexerting yourself." Annabeth nodded, lying back down. She put a hand to her head.

"Ugh, what happened back there," she asked groggily.

"The monster thing whipped you right off its back," Percy explained. "You hit a concrete wall and passed out cold. Sophia knew first aid apparently so using her bracelet, we teleported to my mom's house. Sophia tended to your wounds, and now here we are. You've only been out for a couple of hours." Percy kissed Annabeth, a long hard sweet kiss. I left them alone for a minute while I grabbed some pain relievers, a flashlight, a thermometer, a bottle of water, and some basic first aid stuff. I waited a couple more minutes before walking in in order to give the two lovebirds some alone time. Percy had pulled up a chair and was sitting by her side, holding her hand. I put everything down on a desk except for the flashlight. I sat down on the bed beside Annabeth. She turned her head toward me.

"I'm going to ask you a few simple questions," I said. "I want you to answer them as best as you can." She nodded.

"What is your last name?" I asked.

"Chase," she replied.

"Who is your mother?"

"Athena"

"Can you sing the alphabet?"

Thankfully, she was able to answer all the questions I threw at her with ease. I was relieved because having to deal with an amnesiac demigod would _not_ be fun. I shined the flashlight in her eyes, examining her pupils. They were a little uneven, but not as bad as when she first woke up. Besides being disoriented, she seemed fine which was always a good sign. I gave Annabeth some Tylenol for her headache as well as some more nectar and ambrosia. Percy and Annabeth were having a conversation in Ancent Greek while I put the firt aid things away. I interrupted their conversation.

"Annabeth," I said, concerned. "You should rest. You really need it." Annabeth averted her gaze.

"Annabeth, what wrong?" he asked, concerned. He put a finger under her chin and turned it toward him so that she was looking him in the eyes. He kissed her. "You know you can tell us anything."

"Yeah," I chipped in. "We're all friends here. We won't judge you." She looked up at us, pain in her eyes.

"I saw Melina in my dreams," she admitted. "We need to save her. And fast." Fear flooded into me, eating at me. Oh gods, what is going on? What is happening to Melina. I froze, unable to ask the question tugging at my mind so naturally, Percy ended up asking it.

"Wise girl," he began. He hesistated from asking the entire question, glancing at me. "What's with the rush? Did you see what they were doing to Melina?" Annabeth was looking at me, obviously debating whether to say it out loud or not. She sagged.

"Yeah, I did," she said, "but that's not the important part. I've learned whose responsible for all of this. It's Nemesis."

Now, if there was one thing that really sucked about being a demigod, it was keeping all these gods straight. Once, I called this girl in my class Selena for like, the first six months after I met her, before remembering her name was Sabrina. Keeping track of the names of the gods and goddesses and monsters and heroes was practically impossible for me. I racked my brain, trying to figure it out. _Nemesis, Nemesis. _The name rang a bell, but I couldn't put a finger on it.

"Nemesis?" I asked, hoping for some clarification. Percy and Annabeth spoke simultaneously.

"The minor goddess of revenge," they said.

"Why would she take Melina?" I asked. "I mean, there are tons of other demigods, most of which were probably easier targets. Why her specifically? Revenge always has a motive, right?" Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"It _is _kind of strange," she admitted. She bit her lip. "Still, this isn't right. What did Poseidon do to someone to get Nemesis involved? She is a pretty quiet goddess. What could've stirred her so badly that she had to involve herself personally?" I shurgged my shoulders.

"Melina is probably one of the quietest people I've met. Not quiet as in shy, but more quiet as in.." I fumbled for the right word. "..._unconcerned_, I guess. She doesn't involve herself where she shouldn't and doesn't really care about other people's affairs, like gossip. She'd never shove herself in situation where Nemesis would get ticked enough to punish her personally. Mel has a conscious, enough to drive her away from anything positively terrible. I honestly can't think of something she'd do that would be really bad." Annabeth and Percy exchanged knowing glances, like what I'd said sounded familiar.

"You never know. People do change," Percy said, obvious distaste in his mouth. Around camp, I heard rumors about a traitor who switched sides during the Battle of Manhattan. I'm pretty sure Percy was referring to personal experience, and that it had something to do with that guy.

"Listen to me," I said, my voice low and menacin_g. "_Melina would _never_ betray the gods. She'd die first. Do you understand?" I tapped my ring and Midnight elongated in my hand. "Never let the thought cross your mind," I threatened. Percy took a step back off the bed, his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay," he replied quickly, trying not to aggravate me further. "Anyways, Annabeth, do have a clue as to where she could be?" Annabeth shook her head, obviously straining to remember something.

"Nah. There was nothing telltale about the place. She's obviously underground though. Hey, Sophia, you had a dream about Melina as well, right?" I nodded. "Did you see anything that might give us an idea as to where Melina might be?" They both stared at me expectantly. I shifted uncomfortably.

"In my dream," I explained, "Melina saw me in my dream-"

"Wait," Percy interrupted, eyeing Annabeth. "How'd she see you? You're supposed to be invisible!"

"Gods of Olympus!" I exclaimed. "I don't _freaking_ know! Anyways, since she was gagged-"

"She was gagged?" Annabeth cut me off mid sentence. "She wasn't gagged when I saw her!"

"GODS!" I yelled. "Can I at least finish a damn sentence!" Annabeth and Percy blushed, waving their hands for me to continue. "Anyways, Melina, with her eyes, made me look up, so I could see that she was underground. Then her gaze flickered toward my left, and I looked to find a glowing blue delta, as in the Greek letter. She was urging me to remember sumething, but I couldn't." The lovebirds significantly paled.

"It can't be," Percy said slowly. "It was destroyed when he died...right?" He glanced uncertainly at Annabeth who was holding her breath, still pale. She took a deep breath.

"There is something I didn't tell you, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Only part of it was tied to Daedalus' life force. The rest, well, it was tied to the body of his lover. In order for it to totally self destruct, you'd have to find his partner's body and totally destroy it. It was his decision to do this because it was his greatest's creation, and he knew someday he was going to die, so he had to tie it to something that would still live after his death. He preserved the body of his lover so it could never decay, then he hid it somewhere in the maze. That's why Daedalus gave me his laptop; so that, in the event that it would have to be destroyed, someone would know how. Unfortunately, it didn't tell me where he hid it. I'm so sorry, I should've told you earlier." Annabeth put a hand to her face. Meanwhile, I was still confused. The myth of Daedalus was familiar to me, but again, I sucked at myths.

"Whoa, wait," I said after a moment of silence. "What in the gods are you referring to?" Percy looked at me, a grim look on his face.

"The Labyrinth."

**The Labyrinth, eh? It makes a comeback! Anyways, don't forget to follow me on Twitter at writersmagnet. I love you guys! Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey y'all! You should know the drill. I'm getting tired of writing it. It's repetitive and cliché. Anyways, follow me on Twit at Writersmagnet and keep on writing!**

I sat there in shock. Whoa, were they serious? The _Labyrinth?_ That thing's _huge_! How in- Gods of Olympus- by the time we find her, she'll be dead! My ADHD spiked, like it usually does when I'm mad or worried, and I began pacing, my thoughts scattered.

"In the name of the gods!" I exclaimed. "That thing's freaking _huge_! There's no way we could find he_r!_ Oh gods, she's going to die because of me! I'm an idiot! I should've been with her when she was dreaming about her captor. I should've stayed by her when she fell asleep instead of leaving her alone! I should've been faster!" I began to ramble, my hands in my hair. Percy walked up to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. He shook me.

"Sophia, snap out of it!" he said, his green eyes locked on mine with a sort of determined fierceness. "We _will_ find her. Ok? The more you pace, rambling, the more time we lose. We're leaving tomorrow morning, assuming Annabeth is okay by then. Now, pull yourself together!" I wiped a tear from my eyes and nodded. "Good, now-"

"She acts like you, you know that?" Annabeth said, studying the two of us. His hands dropped to his sides as he eyed his girlfriend. "You both have this regret thing going on. You guys constantly think it's your fault something happens. Remember when Atlas captured me? You acted the same way. The only difference is Sophia voices it out loud. You hold back, but the same things are going on in your thoughts. Don't deny it, Seaweed Brain, and quit acting like she's annoying you. You're the exact same." Annabeth turned her head to face me, who was looking at her, my arms crossed over my chest. "I don't know what your fatal flaw is, maybe Athena can provide some insight on that, but be careful, okay?Fatal flaws are called 'fatal' for a reason. Percy's is personal loyalty; he doesn't know when to cut his losses. In exchange for a friend's life, he'd give up the world. Mine is hubris, deathly pride. Sometimes I feel like I can do anything better than everyone, even the gods. Someday, that will be my downfall. I know you care deeply about Melina, but just, chill a little, alright? Have some faith." I nodded, not happy about it. Percy eyed me, a glint in his eyes.

"You know," he said, "We never got through that hydrokinesis lesson. Annabeth, can you toss me the water bottle?" Annabeth took the water bottle, and threw it at Percy, hitting him on the head.

"Oops," she apologized sarcastically. "Sorry. I missed." Percy scowled.

"Yeah right, Wise owl. You have perfect aim," Percy replied, jokingly mad. He picked up the water bottle. "Now, let's try this.."

The lesson went on for a couple of hours, ending when Percy got mad from Annabeth's constant commentary and doused her with the water. I was laughing, until Percy drew his sword, bradishing it in front of me.

"Poseidon would be mad if you turned your sister into minced meat," I said jokingly. Percy put his sword down and grabbed me in a hug. "Ahhhhh!" I screeched. "I have Kelp Brain's cooties!" Annabeth burst out laughing until her side hurt, while Percy faked hurt. We joked around for another hour or so. Annabeth was feeling so much better which was a relief for all of us. I was still wary and refused to let her exert herself. Eventually, we decided to sleep. Since none of us had to take a watch, we all fell asleep. Percy insisted that he sleep with Annabeth, and I slept in the living room on the couch. The second I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.

My dream faded from something really nice to a demigod dream. Melina was sitting in the corner, using the wall to keep herself propped up. She looked worse than she did last time, with new wounds and bruises. She had a pretty bad cut one on her arm that looked infected, and a bleeding one from her forehead that looked deep enough for stiches. Her hair was caked in so much dirt, it looked brown. Her breathing was ragged, and I was scared her asthma was going to kill her before her wounds do. She looked at me, her gold eyes puffy from crying. She still had that determined look in her eyes, saying that she wasn't going to back down. She wasn't gagged anymore, and I could tell someone had punched her lip.

"Sophia," she said quietly, her voice raspy from screaming. "Be careful. I don't have much time left. They're using me as bait to get to you and Percy. They have-" She winced in pain. "-special plans for you two. Nemesis plans to have a rebellion against the gods for overthrowing the Titans in the first War. In the Battle of Manhattan, she vowed to avenge the titans, and she is mad that Percy defeated Kronos, and even madder at Poseidon for defeating Typhon. She has spies everywhere, who, at any given moment, will overthrow the three main realms, starting with the Underworld. I don't know where in the Labyrinth I am, but I do know that I am not in the heart of it. I'm somewhere else." Melina turned to me, giving me a long, pleading look. "Sophia, tell Annabeth and Percy about Nemesis. She has all the titans and even the giants on her side. We need to warn the gods, but first, free me. By the sound of it, if you don't come by in a week, they'll sacrifice me to bring back some of the worst monsters and giants from Tartarus. If I'm going to die, it's not going to be for a sacrifice against the gods." She smiled genuinely. I smiled back, but I couldn't help but notice that with that determination in her eyes, there was fear. She was being brave for my sake, but in reality, she was terrified. We heard footsteps, and she whispered, "GO!" I closed my eyes and my dream shifted.

I woke up with a start, the first rays of day streaming through the windows. It was probably about six in the morning. I stood up and went to Percy's room, only to find him and Annabeth still asleep. They were sleeping in the same bed. Percy, shirtless, was hugging Annabeth, his head on hers. Annabeth, in a tank top and shorts, was leaning on his chest, her arms around his waist. It was awfully cute, and I didn't want to disturb them so I went and took a quick shower. I tied up my wet, wavy hair and threw on a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and some comfy jeans. I returned to find Percy and Annabeth still sleeping. I went and packed our bags so that they could sleep in a little more. I packed more Tylenol for Annabeth, but I also packed more first aid supplies for when we found Melina. That infected arm was starting to scare me, and the cut on poor Melina's forehead looked like it needed possible stiches. I went into the kitchen in order to pack some food and was surprised to find Sally there. She was sitting on the table with some bills. She looked up at me, and gestured for me to sit down.

"You slept well?" she asked, her blue eyes fixated on me. I nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Jackson, for your hospitality-" I began, only to be cut off by Ms. Jackson.

"Call me Sally," she said. "It's no problem. Is Annabeth okay?"

"Thankfully. She gave us quite a scare," I replied. "The nectar and ambrosia helped a lot." She nodded.

"That's good. You liking camp?" I nodded, smiling.

"It's nice knowing that you aren't alone I guess," I said, good memories flooding my mind. I sighed.

"Are you going to be a year rounder, or just a summer camper?" she also asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I would, but I really want to continue my education. Lead a normal life. Graduate. You know what I mean? But on the same side, I don't want to go back to that orphanage. I really hate it there but my only escape would be if someone adopted me, and no one would ever want to adopt a girl who had weird mind over water powers. Plus, even if I was, how would I explain the Greek gods thing to my adoptive parents? It's a debate that bouncing through my head like a ping pong game." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"I had the same problem with Percy," she replied. "I wanted to keep him close, but at the same time, being a son of the Big Three, he'd probably need to stay at camp full time. I didn't want that to happen. He made the choice, and eventually everything worked out for the better. It always does, in the end. You just got to wait for it." I smiled. Percy's mom was pretty cool. I could see why Poseidon took fancy of her. She's pretty beast.

I thanked Sally and went to wake up the two lovebirds. I walked up to their bed and shook them awake. They both moaned and opened their eyes. I raised and eyebrow, scanning them from head to toe to see if they'd get message. They looked at the way they'd fallen asleep and untangled themself, blushing.

"Percy," I commanded. "Go take a shower. I have to make sure Annabeth's fit enough for us to leave. I packed our bags already." Percy groggily obeyed, stumbling out of the bed into the bathroom. I turned to Annabeth, who groggily sat up. I gave her some Tylenol. She carefully stood up and walked. She claimed she felt totally normal. I eyed her warily and put her under orders to not exert herself too much. She reluctantly agreed.

An hour later, Percy, Annabeth, and I were on the road, headed to a nearby museum.

"Um can you explain why we are going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art?" I asked Annabeth.

"Because there's an entrance to the Labyrinth there," she said without looking back. Percy and I exchanged glances. Percy made to crazy sign and pointed it to Annabeth. "Percy, I saw that!" We all burst out laughing. We entered the museum, Annabeth leading us through the twists and turns of the hallways before stopping at a door. She picked the lock with her knife and we slipped in. Annabeth fumbled around in the dark, Percy's sword as the only light. She found a delta.

"Ah, here it is," she whispered as she put her hand on it. It glowed a light blue, and a door opened. We then entered the maze known as the Labyrinth, intent on finding someone in hundreds of miles of maze.

**Ouch! That must be a lot of walking! Anyways, next chapter is a Labyrinth chapter. Read on!**


	14. Chapter 14

**You know the drill, peeps! Don't forget to review! Follow me on Twitter!**

I thought the labyrinth would be dark and damp. Nope. The air was dry and extremely lit. The ceilings were low, and my claustrophobia spiked. The walls looked like they were dirt packed so hard they were stone, and the color reminded me of the surface of Mars. Annabeth pulled out her laptop, a gift from Daedalus himself. She tried to do something, then cursed in Greek as she put it away.

"No signal," she muttered, her face red. with anger. "Gods, let's just go. Melina should be in the heart of the-"

"No!" I interrupted. Annabeth gave me a sideways glance. "Melina told me that she wasn't in the heart. She said she was somewhere else." Annabeth shrugged and drew her knife.

"Keep your weapon drawn," she ordered as Percy and I drew our swords. "We never know what we're going to face, especially with you two here." Percy came up behind Annabeth and wrapped his hands around her, his head in her hair. He kissed her on the cheek,

"Annabeth," he said softly. "Give me the knife. I don't want you fighting while you're still healing." He nibbled on her ear, attempting to seduce her into submission. She turned to him, her knife at his throat.

"You want the knife?" she asked. "You'll need to disarm me first." They battled for about ten minutes, ending with Percy pinning her up against the wall. They were so close to each other, his chest pressing against hers. They stayed like that for a minute, breathing heavily. Annabeth leaned up and kissed him, a long deep kiss. Percy grabbed her knife and slipped it in his pocket.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked, looking to Annabeth for a plan. She shrugged her shoulders

"And now we walk."

We trudged forward in battle formation, Percy up front, me beside him, and Annabeth (since she didn't have a weapon) behind us. We took random twists and turns. After a couple of noneventful hours, we eventually reached a clearing of some sorts where we sat down and ate lunch which was a couple of sandwiches and some orange juice. I gave Annabeth some more Tylenol for her concussion, and we kept going.

Eventually, we hit an intersection with about eight different routes. I turned around to face Annabeth, Lightning gripped tightly in my hand.

"Which way?" I asked our labyrinth expert. She shrugged her shoulders. "Since the prophecy said something about Melina being in the west, I would take the paths leading east. The labyrinth was made backwards to confuse people. The east corridors turn west while the west corridors turn east. Same with north and south. And now that I said that out loud,-" she continued the rest of the sentence while whispering, "-we take the west corridors. The labyrinth works by taking your thoughts and making them the opposite. Does that make sense?" I nodded, but Percy looked like I'd shoved some quantum physics in his face. We took the west (or what I thought was west) corridors. I heard a loud growling, and Annabeth drew her knife. While we weren't looking, she must've pulled the knife out of Percy's pocket. The Hermes cabin would be proud.

Five giant black dogs pounced on me, ripping my shirt to shreds. The dogs had pinned my arm down so I couldn't fight, but I managed to press my ring and Midnight elongated, stabbing the dog who was pinning me down which disintegrated. I slashed my sword at the three other dogs and they disintegrated. The others were busy with Percy and Annabeth. Percy was going for his final strike, so I assisted Annabeth, killing the two dogs that pounced on her. Percy stood up, and I helped Annabeth up.

"Thanks for helping me, I was fine, you know," she claimed, cleaning the monster blood off her knife. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Gods, what was that?" I asked. brushing monster dust off my half ripped shirt. I had a couple of cuts, but nothing too serious.

"A hellhound," said Percy, his sword in hand. He turned to Annabeth. "You pickpocketed me!'

"Well, you had my knife!" Annabeth retorted. I rolled my eyes at their immaturity.

"You shouldn't have been fighting!" Percy said, nose to nose with Annabeth.

"Well, I would've died if I didn't steal the knife!" she replied harshly.

"I would've covered for you."

"Well, you didn't!"

They went on like this for about five more minutes before I put my hand between them, pushing them away from each other.

"Gods of Olympus!" I yelled, glancing between the two. "You guys should know better than that! What happened, happened, and that's **THAT!******Now, Annabeth will keep her knife, and we will keep going. Every minute you spend fighting, we lose time; time that could be used to save Melina! Now, You two apologize." They both mumbled an almost incoherent _sorry_. "Now, let's go" We walked on, a tense silence between us. We now walking in a straight line, Percy in the middle and Annabeth and I on the ends. Percy stopped abruptly and turned to Annabeth.

"I'm sorry" he said, hugging her. He kissed her. "I'll never do that again. Am I forgiven?" Annabeth kissed him back.

"Only because your brain is full of kelp," she jokingly replied. We kept walking, making small talk as we went. The lovebirds kept trying to push out information about my orphanage life, but I kept dodging the topics. That place was not someone I wanted to talk about. After about two hours, I heard a small crack, like someone had kicked a rock into the walls. I froze.

"Sophia, is there something wrong?" Percy asked. I put a finger to my lips, my white knuckles around Lightning in a death grip. I walked forward, carefully listening for anything else unusual. I kept hearing more of a repetitive clicking sound, like pincers. I heard Annabeth drawing her knife from behind me. As I kept advancing, the clicking became louder and more frequent. I ran into a steel door.

We had reached the center of the maze. _What?_


	15. Chapter 15

**Halla! This is Writersmagnet here, calling to remind you that I AM NOT RICK RIORDAN! Anyways, love y'all, review, follow me on Twit, and keep on writing!**

I pressed my hand against the delta carved into the door. It glowed blue, and the door disappeared. I beckoned to Annabeth and Percy, and we entered the room. It looked like it was abandoned for at least a year. Dust coated the desks which were singed around the edges. Blueprints were everywhere which Annabeth was examining them with great detail, her eyes glazed over like she was in a different world.

"These are brilliant!" Annabeth mumbled, content. Percy was examining a fish tank in the corner. My mind was racing. It didn't make sense. There were no coincidences in the demigod world, and I doubted that this was one. It seemed way too easy. We barely had to fight throughout this entire journey so far. It seemed like someone wanted us to reach the center. My eyes darted around, expecting a sort of trap. My brain began to notice little things, like how certain areas were more dusty than others. I went up to Daedalus's desk and found a note there. I opened it up, and was thankful to find it in Greek, which I could easily read.

_**Dear Katrivina,**_

**My beloved, it has been years since I've seen you, and I'm sorry that this letter comes to you with such terrible news. Our son, Icarus, has passed, drowning in the ocean as we escaped. I am now a hunted man, as King Minos is not happy that I have escaped. I have found refuge meanwhile, but I know it will not last. i will have to do something that I will regret for the rest of my life, I must break my promise and enter the Labyrinth. We both know how dangerous it will be, and I probably won't come out alive, but I vow to see you once more in a couple of years after all of this has died down a bit. Please, take care of young Iapyx for me, and remember that I will love you forever.**

**Your lover,**

**Daedalus.**

Underneath the letter, in scribbly handwriting, was,

_You monstrous Daedalus. We'll see about that. I've killed your wife and cursed your son and his descendants. You will always live in shame._

_King Minos_

Oh gods._ A decision mad_e _shall cause unrest,_ _ A lover's vow hung in the air._ He never got to see his wife because King Minos killed her. He never fufilled his vow, so he decided to tie his labyrinth to the life force of her body so he can always be close to her. His decision to tie her body into the labyrinth caused unrest, since the entire labyrinth wasn't destroyed. It made sense.

"Annabeth, percy, check this out." I called. I gave the note to Annabeth who read it, eyes wide, then gave it to Percy. Annabeth had a hand to her mouth.

"You don't mean..." Her voice trailed off. I nodded.

"The prophecy!" I exclaimed. Percy looked at us, totally lost.

"I don't get it," he said, her arms over his chest.

"That's cause you've got a brain full of kelp," I replied. Annabeth and laughed. "Annabeth, honestly, is he that obtuse?" I asked. She nodded.

"He's usually worse." Annabeth went up to him and whispered something in his ear, on her tiptoes.

"Ohhhh!" he said, a dim light bulb going on in that kelp brain of his. Annabeth and I rolled our eyes. I shook my head exasperated.

"Remind me how he saved Olympus again? Because with that brain, he couldn't save a fly from a spider web," I commented. Annabeth just rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she urged. "Let's get moving. If Melina isn't here in the center, then we have to keep looking.

I nodded and we trudged off. I took a backwards glance, and something told me that wouldn't be the last time I saw that place.


	16. Chapter 16

**Halla! Chapter 16, you know the drill! Here we go! **

It had been three hours since we exited Daedalus's workshop, and Annabeth was starting to wobble dizzily, losing her balance. We decided to call it a night after that. I sat Annabeth down and carefully examined her once more. Dizziness was a common side effect of a concussion, but it should be in shorter bursts. I gave her some more ambrosia and some more Tylenol which helped considerably. She leaned on Percy's lap and fell asleep, lightly snoring. Percy kissed his girlfriend on the forehead. They were so cute together, and I began to wonder if I would ever find a guy who treated me like that. There was a long period of silence, the only sound being Annabeth's breathing. I broke the silence.

"You sleep," I told him. "I'll take first watch." He eyed me suspiciously, like he knew there was an ulterior motive for me to take first watch. Secretly, I didn't want to sleep. I was scared that I would dream about Melina and that I'd end us seeing something that would push me over the edge. Don't get me wrong, I do love Melina like a sister, but I was already pretty peeved at myself for not protecting her, and I didn't want to see something that would make me regret so much I couldn't live with myself. Percy seemed to have noticed that.

"Ok," he said. "Wake me up and I'll take over. Don't stay up all night; the last thing we need is you passing out from exhaustion. I nodded, and he leaned back against the wall, falling asleep. I faced one of the corridors, watching for monsters. I pulled Moonlight out and placed it on my lap, stroking the blade. Like mine, Melina's sword was double edged, meaning she could hit an enemy on either side of the sword and still cause damage. Her blade was a bronze color and two and a half feet long, verses mine which was black and three feett long. Her sword was heavier which was perfect for Melina's slightly unorthodox fighting style. My blade was lighter and thinner which was perfect for my fencing like fighting style. Her hilt was made out of leather and was much thicker than my metal hilt. Having her sword and knife with me was like having a piece of Melina with me right now, the Melina that wasn't being tortured by gods-know-what, but the Melina who kept pushing me to ditch rehearsal. The Melina who sat next to me in math class as we debated about certain math concepts. The Melina that would kick the gym locker room door open as we left. And the Melina who was with me through thick and thin, cracking jokes along the way. I smiled like an idiot as I remembered those stupid moments where she would become the class jester, and a whole different side of her shy personality shined through. Gods, those were the best.

I was lost in thoughts like these for about another three hours, when I remembered to wake Percy up. I curled up on the floor and fell asleep, happy memories still swirling in my mind.

I woke up to someone shaking me awake. It was Percy. He had a desperate look in his eyes, and had his sword drawn. I knew something was wrong and quickly grabbed the nearest sword, which happened to be Melina's. It was heavy and unbalanced, but it would do..

"Percy, what's going on?" I asked frantically. He had a panicked look in his eyes. I looked around. "Percy, where's Annabeth?" He opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Perseus freakin' Jackson, where in the gods is Annabeth?" He finally was shaken enough to open his mouth.

"They came and took her. I wasn't fast enough. They went that way." He pointed to the corridors, tears in his eyes. I grabbed our stuff and we ran, trying to catch up the the kidnapper of our friend.

**Poor Annabeth! Poor Percy! Now, I'm going to go write the next chapter in a cave to escape all the rocks you guys must be throwing at me for doing that to Annabeth. Sorry for the cliffy! I'll get the next chapter out ASAP!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Pauve Percy! Writersmagnet here, and this cave that I'm hiding in to get away from the tomatoes and various other stuff you guys are throwing at me is dark. I'm scared of the dark, and as you will see in this chapter, I'm not the only one. You know the drill and the disclaimer, so on with story!**

As if Melina wasn't enough, Annabeth had to be kidnapped too. Great. Just great.

Poor Percy was crying the whole time we were running. We eventually did lose them, and Percy collapsed to the floor, devastated. I sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, keeping all my emotions in check, like I'd been doing most of life. I had to stay strong for Percy's sake. Annabeth was his backbone. WIthout her, he couldn't hold himself up. I put hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find her," I promised. Percy had his face buried in his hands and was shaking uncontrollably, his body wracked with sobs. He looked up at me, his green eyes bloodshot.

"What if we don't find her," he said, pain in his voice. I winced; that was exactly what I had said to Percy when Melina went missing. I met his gaze, his bright green eyes dark.

"Melina told me they're using them to lure us to them," I told him, feining confidence, something I've gotten good at over the years. "They won't hurt her as long as they know we're coming after her. Now come on. Stand up. Let's get walking." I helped him stand. He wiped his tears against the back of his hand. He kept Riptide in his pocket. I exchanged Melina's sword for mine and we trudged forward for about an hour. All of a sudden, the labyrinth went dark. I squealed, my phobia of the dark getting the better of me.

"P-P-Percy," I stammered. "W-where are you?" I felt a strong hand grasp mine.

"Sophia, I'm here," he replied softly. I shook with fear, fighting to control it. This stupid phobia was ruining my life. Figures began to form in front of me. A tall man with tanned skin held up a whip. He grinned menacingly. Another man showed up behind him, holding up a pair of chains. I remembered being locked up in that cell, tortured and whipped for days on end. Right now, I was living in a memory.

"Stop!" I yelled. "Please! Don't hurt me!" I gripped Percy's hand tighter.

"Sophia, what in the gods are you talking about!" Percy exclaimed, obviously concerned. More images came up, and I began screaming. I dropped to my knees, begging.

"No, no, no," I screamed, shaking my head. "Please, stop. Stop it. Please." I could hear Percy dropping beside me, confused. He couldn't see the mirages of my past life that haunted me in the dark. Right now, I couldn't discern reality from the memories in front of me. I was in that specific memory, and I couldn't get out. Percy must've figured it out by now.

"Sophia," he said calmly, shaking me. I couldn't feel him. I wasn't in touch with reality at the moment. "Sophia, you're not there anymore. You're in a labyrinth. This happened years ago. It's not going on right now. Right now, it's dark, You're on a quest to find Annabeth and Melina. Remember Melina?" The name Melina jarred me out of it. The lights in the labyrinth turned on, and I could see Percy on the floor beside me, looking at me in concern. He pulled me into a hug, and I shook in is arms, wracked with loud, heartwrenching sobs. Percy stroked my hair, murmuring random things like "it's okay," and "you're not there anymore". After about a half hour, my sobs turned into whimpering.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I managed through tears. I gave him shaky smile "It was a weak moment for me. I have a phobia of the dark, and sometimes I tend to blackout because of it." He nodded understandably.

"What did you see?" he asked. "What happened to you?" I winced at the memory. I never told anyone about the memory, not even Melina. "You don't have to tell me if-" I cut him off

"It's fine," I told him. "After seeing me go through that, you have a right to know." I took a shaky breath. "It was about three years ago. I was eleven. Melina came to visit me at the orphanage to hang out. This one guy, Davian, began to bully Melina during lunch, almost to tears. I got mad enough to make the glass of water he was drinking explode. He thought it was Melina, and threatened to get back at her, and this is when I told him I did it. He threatened me, saying something like 'you'll regret it, Holt'. What I didn't know was that Davian was part of a gang. While I was walking home from school, three full grown men kidnapped me. I was locked up in a cell, where they whipped me, burned me and even hit me with knifes for two weeks, until I was found by the police. I was lucky to escape without any scars except for one." I pulled up the hem of my jeans, revealing a long whip mark. "But sometimes, the mental damage is worse than the physical one. I still have nightmares and I earned a phobia of the dark." I shuddered as I remembered the mirages. We sat there in a silence, Percy thinking deeply. He turned to me.

"Do you ever regret taking the blame for Melina that day?" he asked thoughtfully. I thought about it for a minute, then shook my head.

"No, not really," I told him. "Her name never popped into my mind, and even if it did, I wouldn't regret it. As I said, Melina's my little sister. Even if I knew what it would cause, I would've done it anyway. I was always very protective of Melina. I always feel like I'm stronger than her; that I can always take the blow. This time, she got shot, and I wasn't there to take the bullet. Now look at where she is. My biggest fear is that this will scar her for life, kinda like my kidnapping did." Percy nodded in understanding. I stood up.

"Come on. Let's keep going. I took a few steps and tripped on something. I looked down and saw something that chilled me to the bone.

Annabeth's dagger.

**Cliffy! Muhahaha! Well, you guys brought this all upon yourselves! That's what you get for making me hide in this dark cave! Well, I promise the next chapter will be better! I might even be able to get out of this cave! We'll see! Follow me on Twitter at writersmagnet and don't forget to review! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Halla! Writersmagnet here, and I think I might be able to get out of my cave this chapter, but I'll wait until Annabeth is finally safe to get out of the cave. Y'all better know the drill, if not then you've been zoned out. Here's your wake-up call. Anyways, onward! MIZZENMAST! **

Percy froze when he saw what I was looking at. He looked so fragile, like one touch was going to break him. He carefully picked up Annabeth's dagger, his hands shaking. He stroked the blade dreamily, like he was remembering something. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," I told him. "We'll find them." He extended his arms, his eyes shining with unshed tears. We hugged, both shedding a few tears over our lost friends. We separated and simultaneously wiped tears from our eyes. He slipped the blade in his pocket, and we walked forward, our minds elsewhere. I was thinking about Melina and Annabeth. If we didn't get to Melina soon, that infection in her arm would spread, and that would be pretty bad. Not to mention the gash in her head. As for Annabeth, it was her concussion. The aftereffects have still been going on. The torture could make her concussion worse, enough to cause permanent brain damage. Or even worse. I shuddered at the thought and gripped Lightning tighter, my knuckles turning white. _No. I was not going to let that happen._

_Click click click!_

It was that clicking sound that I'd heard earlier when entering Daedalus' workshop. With everything that had just happened, I'd forgotten about it. I turned to Percy who was silently crying.

"Percy," I said slowly, straining my ears to listen. "Do you hear that?" Percy's face scrunched up in concentration, pushing to hear the sound I was referring to. His face relaxed after a minute, and he looked at me in concern. I knew what was coming.

"Sophia," He put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't hear anything. Are you okay?"

I let my anger get the best of me that moment. I fiercely shrugged my shoulder, whipping Percy's hand off me. I ran ahead toward the noise, leaving him behind me. The reason I never told anyone about my little memory lapses was because the person would think I was a little insane, and that everything I heard or saw was just an illusion. That wasn't true. Besides, they only happened in pitch darkness. Now that I look back on it, it probably wasn't one of my _greatest_ ideas to run like that, but I can't change the past.

Percy hadn't moved, and by the time he did, I was way ahead of him. I kept following the clicking sound as it became louder and more frequent. I wasn't thinking about what it could be, or whether it was dangerous or not. I was only following it like a blind bird. I kept taking random turns, not really comprehending what I was doing. You should've seen the surprise on my face when I figured out what the clicking noise was.

I reached a clearing and had to put my hand over my mouth. On the walls, on the floor everywhere,, were giant _scorpions_. If that didn't make it any worse, they had little baby ones on their backs. Their pincers were snapping together, making the clicking sound. The scorpians were brown and about the size of one of those tiny smart cars. They were a dark brown with black beady eyes. The stinger dripped a green substance; _poison,_ I knew that if they attacked, I'd be outnumbered big time. I tried to back away, but I accident;ly kicked a rock. The scorpions turned toward me, clicking menacingly. Oh gods. I was screwed.

I strained my ears, hoping to maybe hear Percy running. Nope. I must've lost him. Looks like I ddin't have any back up.

The little arachnids scuttled towards me. A stinger shot toward me, and I slashed it with Lightning. it scorpion disintegrated. One scorpion down. About a hundred more to go.

The smaller scorpions were also trying to attack me, and I just kept stepping on them, praying that none of them would sting me. I didn't know how potent the little ones' poison were, but I wasn't taking any chances.I kept slashing and stabbing, but I was beginning to get tired, and they were overwhelming me. One scorpion shot its stinger at me and I weakly dodged. The stinger managed to get into my leg. This poison was very fast acting, and I could feel it coarsing through my veins. This was bad. Really bad.

"Percy!" I screamed. I kept trying to fight, but I knew I was done for. The poison was at my heart, and I could feel it slowing down. I decided I had to do something drastic. I pulled a dragon tooth from my pocket and buried it in the ground. I ran as I heard the tunnel shake. It was going to collapse.

I managed to run to a clearing before falling to the floor. With my last burst of energy, I made a quick prayer to Hades for safe passage in the Underworld.

Everything turned black.

I woke up groggily. I was propped up against a wall. My vision was all blurred, and I couldn't see anything in front of me. A burst of pain ran up my leg and I moaned. What in the gods had happened?

A sledgehammer of memories fell on my head. The scorpions, the dragon tooth, it all came back to me in a rush. It was now that I wondered how in Hades I was even still alive.

I looked around, trying to figure what happened. Water was all around me, even though I was dry. Percy was in a corner, rummaging through a backpack for something. I looked down to find my leg bandaged thickly from the ankle up to my knee. I felt like crap, totally weak.

Percy turned around, some nectar and ambrosia in his hands. He ran over to me and gave me a hug. Surprised by the gesture, I stiffined. He pulled away, his green eyes full of relief.

"Sophia," he said. "Thank the gods you're still alive! What in the gods happened? You ran, and I tried to follow you, but you ran too fast. I hear you scream and hurried over, but when I found you..." He trailed off, his voice cracking. "You weren't breathing, Sophia. You were dead for a good couple of minutes. I thought...I thought _I lost you."_ He averted his gaze. "I thought I was alone." I put a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and gave me some ambrosia. "Eat this. I got rid of the poison, but you're still pretty weak. Now, tell me what happened."

"The clicking sound I heard? Those were freaking _scorpions_," I told him. "They was an entire freaking _cyclone_ of them. One stung me on the leg. You came just in time; the poison was killing me." He nodded his head. He gave me some more nectar which I drank, then we reverted to normal food.

"So," he asked between bites of a tuna salad sandwich, "what's the plan?" I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

"Honestly, I don't know what to do. I was thinking of just walking around until we find them. I mean, the prophecy _did_ say that we would find them." Percy's eyes darkened, like they do when he's thinking. He shifted uncomfortably.

"We need some sort of idea of where they are," he said. "I can't leave Annabeth and Melina with those people for too long. Oh gods, Annabeth would know what to do." His face softened and he leaned against the wall, hugging his knees. Poor Percy. He looked so...vunerable. He was so fragile, like one little push was going to send him over the edge. I didn't know how to comfort him so I just left him to his thoughts. I stood up, trying to walk with the bandages. Thankfully, the ambrosia and nectar got rid of any pain, and I could walk almost normally. I picked up Lightning which Percy had put in my bag while I was out cold. I packed everything up and slung my and Annabeth's bag over my shoulder. I turned to Percy, who had Annabeth's knife in his hand. He was rubbing his hand up and down the blade, his mind elsewhere. After a minute, he kissed the knife and put it in his pocket, murmuring something. Looking at the blade, I had an awesome idea. Crazy, but pretty awesome.

"Percy," I said excited. He looked up at me, his eyes shining. He thought I'd seen Annabeth. "I think I know how to find the others." I pulled Star from my pocket. "Give me Annabeth's dagger." He gave me the knife, eyeing me confused. I pulled out another dragon tooth from my pocket. Percy's eyes widened when he saw the tooth; he picked up on my idea.

"Sophia, no," he said. "That's very unpredictable. We never know what it will do." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Got a better idea, Kelp for Brains?" He waved his hands in defeat, allowing me to continue. I placed the blades on the ground. I pressed my ring and Midnight grew in my hand. I buried the tooth in the ground at my feet. I bit my lip as I slit my wrist. Blood flowed freely, hot and cold at the same time. I made the cut deeper, enough so that a waterfall of blood was streaming over the tooth. "Percy," I said gritting my teeth in pain. He tossed me a canteen of nectar, which I poured on the cut. The cut quickly faded as the ground shook. I pressed the trident on my hilt and Midnight turned back into a ring. A small little dinosaur looking thing sprung from the ground. It was a deep blue, like my armor. It looked like a T-Rex, if it weren't for the blood that covered it.

"Hi...Laser!" I quickly named the little creature. It let a little squeak; it liked its name. "I want you to lead us to where these people are. Here's the scent." I shoved the knives under its nose, and it sniffed it greedily, reminding me of a child when his mother was making cookies. The monster thing squealed and ran down twoard the tunnel.

Percy and I exchanged glances and followed the creature that was to lead us toward Annabeth and Melina.

**Cliffy? Depends on how you look at it. But hey, Annabeth and Melina are going to be freed next chapter. Expect an action scene! Just to be safe, I'll get out of my dark cave next chapter, when they're actually safe and freed. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Oh gods. This is probably my longest chapter yet. I'm not going to delay you, especially since you ALL want to know whether or not Annabeth and Melina are okay. So y'all know the drill, and here's Chapter 19!**

You'd think I'd be happy to find where Melina and Annabeth were.

Uh, no. In reality, I was _beyond_ terrified.

What if we fail and we end up being captured instead? I mean, when who'd save us then? And what happened if Nemesis decided to fight me? There would be no way I could beat her single handed. I mean, I couldn't even take care of a cyclone of scorpions. How in the gods would I be able to defeat a _goddess?_ Especially underground where there wouldn't be any water at all.

Percy was staring at me for the majority of the time we ran after Laser. I could tell he sensed my distress, but he couldn't figure out why. He longed to be with Annabeth. Don't get me wrong, I felt the same way. I was just a little more cautious and suspicious than he was.

Lazer eventually stopped at a corridor, whimpering quietly. His blue body turned almost purple in fear, sending us a clear message, _they're here, but I'm not going any farther in._ Percy and I pulled out our swords out, haphazardly walking forward. It was pitch black, our swords being our only sources of light. A terrible smell hit us hard; one that I was able to recognize. It was a mixture of blood, dog pee, and sweat. Percy and I pulled out shirts over our noses. I began to see images in front of me, and I closed my eyes. _No. Not now. Please_.

Percy squeezed my hand, shaking me back to reality. "Sophia," he hissed. "I'm here. You're fine. Don't black out." I squeezed his hand, slowly opening my eyes. _I can do it,_ I urged myself. _You're stronger than this._

The hallway ended to a large doorway. I could hear angry screaming in Greek in a voice I immediately identified. _Annabeth_.

I fought back an urge to laugh. Annabeth would never let herself go that easily. I looked at Percy, his face slightly illuminated because of his sword. His face softened, the love and relief evident on his face. I couldn't hear Melina, and I began thinking the worst. What if we were too late? Percy and I moved closer to listen. The argument was happening in Ancient Greek.

"I will _not _ be sacrificed against the gods!" Annabeth screamed. "I'll chop you to pieces first!" An older, more majestic voice laughed. Her voice brought shivers down my spine.

"You will learn to serve me, you worthless daughter of Athena," the voice said. "I will find Barnacle Beard's kids and sacrifice them to the hearth. I, Nemesis, shall arise the cyclopes and we will take our well deserved revenge against the gods! And you, daughter of Athena, will be the first person to feel our wrath. Geryon, show this girl what happens to those who rebel." A low, gruff voice, like two rocks rubbing on sandpaper, spoke.

"Gladly," Geryon responded. A crack of a whip, and a small yelp. Percy's eyes flashed murderously. No one hurt his Annabeth and got away with it _alive_. I grabbed Percy's shirt and pulled him away before he could do something reckless.

"You got a plan?" I whispered. He looked at me, a gleam in his eyes. Oh gods. Here comes a crazy idea.

"How strongly do you oppose of being captured and tortured by a giant?"

Using Lightning, I slit my wrist, enough so that tiny droplets of blood were falling on the floor. I gave Lightning to Percy, and, using Riptide, he cut my shirt, using the blood on my wrists to stain the shirt in blood in appropriate places. I stumbled through the doorway, acting tired and weak.

"Annabeth," I screamed as I caught a glimpse of her. They were in a cage made of stone. Melina was leaning up on the wall, apparently unconscious. She was covered in blood and was much paler than she usually was. I could tell she lost a lot of blood. Annabeth saw me approach and her eyes lit up. It was obvious that she was looking for Percy. Annabeth looked a little beat up, but nothing too bad. Her hair escaped most of her ponytail, making her look like a ragged mess. Her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was stained with dirt and blood, but besides that, she looked the same way she did a couple of days ago, minus the cuts and whip marks that were on her face and limbs. She bolted up.

"Sophia?" she asked. "What in the gods are you doing here? What happened to you?" I found a lock on the cage door and pulled one of the many bobby pins I kept in my hair for that purpose. I began to pick the lock noisily, trying to stall for time. I needed the giant to capture me.

"Rescuing you and Melina of course!" I exclaimed loudly, trying to catch the attention of Geryon. I heard footsteps approaching. Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Hide!" she whispered forcibly, giving me her Yankees cap. I stuffed it in my pocket, not wanting to hide. Annabeth's gray eyes began to analyze me, noticing that this was a sort of distraction. Her eyes lit up, and I could tell she figured it out. "A variated Battle Plan Macedonia, huh?" she whispered. "Brilliant!" I winked, letting her know that she was right. I grabbed three bobby pins from my hair, pulled Midnight off my finger, and unclasped my bracelet, shoving them in between the bars.

" Hide these and keep them safe," I told her. She nodded, stuffing them in her shoe. I tossed Annabeth her dagger as well which she also kept in her shoe. Geryon ran into the room.

Now I've seen some pretty weird looking creatures, but I think Geryon tops them all. He was about my height so he wasn't a giant or anything. What made him look weird was he had three bodies, kind of like what a person would look like if you stuck two really fat and ugly abdomens on either side of them. He had one head which reminded me of a baby picture that was edited with one of those distort effects things. He had two legs and looked slightly off balance because of the weight of the other two bodies. He had two arms, one on each end of the extra stomachs.

"Wel, well, _well," _he said, grabbing me by the arms. I tried to struggle out of his grip, but he was pretty strong. "Poseidon's other daughter, huh? Nemesis would _love_ to deal with you personally." He pulled me away from the cage doors, dragging me toward Nemesis. We entered another room, and I just fell limp. I knew struggling wasn't going to work at this point.

The room we entered was a sort of throne room. I could tell it was meant to resemble Mount Olympus in a sort of darker of twelve thrones, like Olympus has, there was only one. The throne looked like it was made of pure darkness and gold. Everything in the throne room was made of black and gold. On the throne sat a twelve foot-tall woman. She had long stick straight black hair and reached her waist. Thick, straight across bangs covered her tanned forehead, obscuring her eyebrows. Nemesis's eyes were the color of pure gold, a cold look in her eyes that had a sort of devious gleam in them. Exactly like someone who was planning revenge looked. Her lips were pressed tightly in a thin line, like she was aggravated with something. Geryon kneeled, tightening his grip on my arms. He pulled my arms back in such a way that my chest stuck out in front of me, exposed.

"The daughter of Poseidon mi'lady," Geryon said, thrusting me forward. I grunted at the force he used. I glared at Nemesis hatefully, something I'd perfected at the orphanage. Nemesis laughed, waving her hands. A wooden pole appeared in front of Geryon.

"Tie her up," Nemesis commanded. "Then leave us alone. We have some catching up to do." Geryon stood, leading me toward the pole. He grabbed my hands first, put the pole between my shoulder blades and tied my hands hands together. He repeated the process to my legs. Geryon bowed and left the room. Nemesis hopped off her throne, shrinking to a more human size. She approached me, and I strengthened my glare. She stood in front of me, just studying me, like I was some sort of interesting frog that she was about to dissect.

"Hello, Sophia," she greeted. I didn't respond, refusing to break my gaze. She snapped her finger and a whip appeared in her hand. She wrapped it between her finger nonchalantly, almost playing with it. "You know, you and I have more in common than you think," she said. "I know about what those men did to you, Sophia." I flinched at the mention of them.

"You don't know a thing about me," I retorted without thinking. She laughed menacingly.

"Oh really?" she replied, amused. "I was the one who gave those men what they deserved. They are now dead, in the Fields of Punishment, being tortured the same way you were. You should be thanking me." She came closer, until she was face to face with me, a centimeter between us. "You. Owe. Me."

"I owe you nothing," I smart-mouthed. "I don't owe you for that. I owe Dike for that." She ignored my comment.

"You could simply pay me back by joining me," she said. "If you join me, I promise, I will allow you to get your revenge on everyone who'd done you wrong. Don't you want that?"

"Over. My. Dead. _Body."_ I emphasized each word, packing as much menace as possible. She gripped her whip and hit me on my side. Pain like nothing I'd ever felt before ran up my body. I screamed. The whip was enchanted. Just my luck. Her whip changed into a blood red sword.

"What have the gods done to you?" Nemesis asked, obviously mad. "Poseidon left you at the orphanage and did nothing to save you. He didn't _care_ about you. You were just an inconvenience; an oath he couldn't keep. He couldn't even acknowledge your existence, instead acting like you were the worst thing that ever happened to him. He's _embarrassed_ by you." I shook my head, refusing to believe what Nemesis had said. She was right, I _did _resent Father for doing that. I _did_ feel like he thought I was just a mistake. But I knew I was worth more than that.

"What have the gods done to me?" I echoed. "They kept order. The reason they had the oath was to prevent possible destruction of the _world_. The _world,_ Nemesis. Do you know what an apocalypse would cause? Total havoc, probably to the point whereyou wouldn't even _exist_. Kronos would've never spared any god. You would've suffered eternal torment. The Age of the Gods would've crumbled to dust. Is that what you want, Nemesis?" I could tell I hit a nerve. Nemesis snarled at me, raising her sword. Rage was prominent in her eyes as well as something else..._unease_. She was doubting herself. I tried to play off that. "Nemesis, you don't have to go on with this. You could just let us go and surrender. If you stop now, we won't tell the gods about you guys. You won't be punished, and we could just pretend this never happened. _Please_." She slashed at me with her sword. It wasn't a deep cut, but the insane pain made me scream. Stupid enchanted sword. She slashed my face, leaving a thin cut on my cheek. I pretended to slump in unconsciousness, wanting the pain to end.

"Weakling couldn't even last five minutes," Nemesis muttered. "Geryon, take her to the cell. I'll deal wth her later." I could hear Geryon entering the room. I felt my bounds loosening as I was lifted up cradle style. Geryon carried me to the little cage thing where Annabeth and Melina were. I was put on the floor, and I heard Geryon leave. I opened my eyes to find Annabeth looming over me, looking concerned.

"Faked unconsciousness, huh?" she whispered. "Smart." I nodded and crawled over to Melina. She was unconscious, her breathing ragged. Annabeth came next to me. "She's been out cold for a couple of days," she said. I arched an eyebrow.

"You were kidnapped earlier today," I said. "How would you know?" Annabeth sighed.

"Depending on where you are in the labyrinth, time works differently," she explained. "I've been here for about a week, even though for you, it was only a couple of hours. Time goes on slower where you were than here."" Oh gods. If she was kidnapped a couple of hours ago, and she'd been here a week, how long had Melina been here? Shit. She was tortured for longer than I thought.. I hovered over Melina, gently shaking her awake. She bolted up, wincing.

"Sophia!" she exclaimed happily, hugging me. "You're here!" I hissed in pain, and Melina let go of me. She looked me over, and her face darkened. "You go captured too, huh?" I shook my head, giving her my I-have-an-awesome-idea stare. She put a hand to her forehead."Oh gods, Sophia has one of her crazy epiphanies. We're screwed."

"Hey, for one, it was Seaweed's idea," I replied jokingly,"and two, since I've gotten this far, it'll work. And three, _epiphany?_ Really?" Melina shurgged her shoulders, wincing as she did. I quickly outlined the plan out with them. I examined Melina with concern. "You can run okay, right? I don't want you passing out on us." She nodded. "Good." I pulled out Moonlight and Star and gave them to Melina. "Now, Annabeth, can you give me the stuff?" She gave me the bobby pins, Lightning, and Midnight. I quickly picked the lock to our cage. Thankfully, it was an easy lock to pick. I could see Percy in the doorway, waiting for the signal. I made a three fingered claw over my heart, and I saw him nod. Geryon was in the other room. We were lucky; we wouldn't have to face him. We opened the cage door, thinking we might've succeeded, until we heard something that made our blood run cold.

"_**You cannot hide anything from a**_ **goddess**!" Nemesis boomed, entering the room. An intense pain ran through me and I fell to the floor. Pain was all I felt. It blocked everything out. My vision was red, and I could see that Annabeth and Melina were on the floor as well. The stuff she used to torture us bound us to her in such a way that she could put us in so much pain that we couldn't move, let alone escape. "I know you are there, Perseus," I heard Nemesis say. "Come and save your petty friends." Oh, Styx. His fatal flaw. He couldn't leave us behind even if he wanted to. Nemesis knew this. I heard Percy step forward out of his hiding place. I had to warn him about Nemesis's sword.

"Percy!" I screamed through the pain, forcing myself to think despite the pain. "Watch out for Nemesis' weapons! If she hits you with them, you're bound to her like we are!" My pain intensified, and I could hear screaming. _My_ screams.

"Silence, petty girl," Nemesis threatened,"or I will make your pain unbearable." I ignored her.

"Percy, abandon the quest!" I screamed. "Leave us here! Go warn the gods!" I was praying to Athena at this point. _Please Athena,_ I begged internally. _Make him see sense._ My pain quickly multiplied. I forgot everything, and I struggled to find some sort of mental anchor. I could hear what was going on, and I strained to listen.

I heard someone, Percy, charge. The clashing of swords, and I could tell Percy was fighting Nemesis.

I couldn't remember much after that. The pain muddled my mind. At one point, I heard Nemesis cursing in Greek and my pain weakened a little. It felt like an eternity before the pain finally subsided. I was lying on the floor, covered in something sticky and wet. Blood. I looked around, trying to find Percy. He was hovering over Annabeth, who was also covered in blood. They were having a quiet conversation. I slowly sat up, the world swirling around me. I retched, my puke purely blood. I knew I was going to regret it, but I slowly stood up. Black spots began playing in my vision. I pushed them back. Percy hurried over, sitting me down and giving me some ambrosia.

"You okay?" he asked as I ate the ambrosia. I nodded shakily.

"I'll live," I said, wincing as my voice cracked. I must've screamed my vocal chords out. "How are Annabeth and Melina?" He glanced over at Annabeth who was nibbling on some ambrosia. Melina looked like she was unconscious.

"You guys were bleeding pretty badly. Annabeth claims she's fine, but I doubt she can walk. Melina's out cold. You guys were all out cold for a couple of minutes after Nemesis left. Melina just hasn't woken up yet." I nodded.

"We have to warn the gods," I said, "before Nemesis launches her revenge. Let's go now." Percy put a hand on mine.

"Look at yourself, Sophia," he said. I looked down to find all my clothes red with blood and covered in dirt. I shrugged my shoulders.

"What?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Look at the blood you've lost. Ambrosia and nectar can only go so far. You need some well deserved rest." I opened my mouth to object, but Percy picked me up. I scowled as he led me back into the labyrinth and into a clearing. He propped me up against the wall. His hands, covered in my blood, were wiped on his pants, and he tossed me some clothes. "While you're gone, change. You're filthy." As he left, I quickly changed in my sitting position. He brought Annabeth in next, and I wasn't surprised to find them making out. I smiled. They were really a match made in Elysium. I wondered if there was a guy like that for me out there. Percy placed her down tenderly to my right. He left and I helped Annabeth change her t-shirt which was also soaked in blood. He brought Melina in next. She was still out cold, but she was stirring in Percy's hand. He gave Melina to me, and I positioned her so that her head was on my lap horizontally. Her eyes fluttered open aas she put a groggy hand to her head.

"Ugh, she said, her voice cracking. "Next time, remind me to beat up that nasty son of a-" I cut her off.

"I need to check you out," I told her. I was concerned. She'd been tortured for days on end, and that could've been weeks here in the labyrinth. "Does anything hurts? And don't you _dare_ sugar coat what you tell me. I'll find out."

It took an hour to patch Melina up. She kept claiming that she was fine, but I refused to finish until every single wound was addressed. After her, I moved on to Annabeth. Her wounds were pretty minor, and I finished tending to her after fifteen minutes. Percy was just watching me with interest the entire time, studying me. I found it slightly unnnerving, but I thought better than to confront him about it. The second I finished with Annabeth, he spoke, shattering a long silence.

"Sophia, what about yourself?" he asked, obviously disturbed. I waved my hand dismissively.

"Nah," I replied. "I'm fine." It was a total lie. Nemesis's pain thing left me really drained. My leg was throbbing, giving me a terrible headache. I was nearly positive that the whip might've cracked a rib, since my side was on fire. It was taking quite a bit of self control to not cry out. Besides, Melina and Annabeth were worse off at the moment. I didn't want to add any more stress on everyone. Percy scanned me once more.

"Prove it to me," Percy demanded. "Stand up." Damn. I was busted. I shakily stood up. Black spots danced in my vision, and my knees buckled. A strong pair of arms caught me before I fell. It was Percy. He carefully sat me down, propping me up against the wall. "See that?" he said. "That means you aren't alright." I nodded as the world came back into focus. Percy shoved some ambrosia in my hands, and I ate a couple of squares. "Nemesis tortured you, right?" I nodded.

"It wasn't a big-" Percy cut me off.

"Where did she hit you?" he asked. I put a hand to my side where the whip had pierced my skin. Percy lifted my shirt up to just below my bra. He cursed as he saw the whip mark. "Sophia, why in Hades did you act like this was nothing? I can tell you broke a rib!" I shrugged my shoulders. He scowled and grabbed the rubbing alcohol. He cleaned out the wound then proceeded to wash the cut on my cheek. When he finished, he gave me some Tylenol and diet Coke. "You need sugar and fluids" was his weak protest when I asked him about the Coke. I drank the Coke greedily; I hadn't realized how thirsty I was. Percy then demanded that I get some rest. He was taking first watch this time. I nodded my head and passed out immediately.

**And here I come out of my cave! The sunlight is burning my eyes! Ahhh! I'm meltinggggg...wait...I'm not a vampire. Never mind, I'm okay. This story isn't finished. The gods still need to know about Nemesis. A trip to Mount Olympus is in order! WOOOT!**


	20. Chapter 20

** Well, they're safe. Thank the gods. But Nemesis is still out there, and the gods need to be warned about the impending war. Let's see how this goes. Y'all know the drill.**

I woke up groggily to find Percy, Annabeth, and Melina all wide awake and discussing something. Me.

Now, I know eavesdropping is wrong and blah blah blah. But I know Percy's been hiding something from me ever since we were at his house, and besides, you try staying quiet when you friends are talking about you behind your back. I closed my eyes, feining sleep and tuned into the conversation.

"-but she'll probably be a summer camper," I heard Melina say. "Sophia will want to go back and be a normal person for as long as possible. Plus, she really does love school. She wants an education. She may hate the orphanage, but she'll live." Funny how that was the same thing I'd told Sally. Seems like Melina is answering the same question.

"How do you know that she won't want to stay with you?" Percy said. "If you're going to be a year rounder, Sophia might go with you."

"She won't," said Melina. "She knows I'm safe at Camp Half-Blood. She usually only tags along if she thinks I won't be safe."

"But how do you know she won't reject the offer," Annabeth retorted. "She could, right?"

"I don't know," replied Melina. There was a pause."Yeah, I guess she could. Sophia never has, but that's just because...you know."

"Talking about me, huh?" I said, pretty aggravated. I sat up and they all whipped their heads toward me. Melina approached me, her hands in surrender.

"I can explain-" I cut her off.

"Why didn't you guys just ask me?" I told them. "I will be a summer camper because the orphanage might get suspicious if I leave forever. And what offer would I reject?" The three of them exchanged glances.

"Anyway," said Annabeth, desperately changing the subject. "How in Hades are we getting out of here?"

"My bracelet?" I said uncertain. "I don't know if it works getting out of a labyrinth though." I put two fingers to my bracelet, closing my eyes. I pictured Percy's house, since it was in New York. I opened my eyes to find myself still in the labyrinth. "Doesn't work." They groaned. We all turned to Annabeth.

"What are you staring at?" she said, obviously uncomfortable. Percy put his arms around her and kissed her.

"You are our labyrinth expert," Melina said. "You know a quick way to an exit?" Annabeth shook her head.

"Great," I said. "We're stuck here." I had faith in Annabeth, don't get me wrong. It's just, we're on a time limit here. We had to warn the gods before Nemesis launched her attack. Percy's eyes lit up and he rummaged through his backpack, pulling out a drachma and a water bottle.

"We can Iris message the gods," he said. "Then even if we don't get out in time, at least they know." Annabeth kissed him hard.

"You are a genius!" Annabeth turned to me expectantly. I cracked my knuckles.

"Let's do this, Kelpy," I told him. He opened the water bottle and I focused hard. A tug in my gut and the water began making a mist. Percy threw his drachma in.

"O goddess, accept this offering. Show me Zeus at Mount Olympus," Percy said. The mist abruptly cut off, the water disobeying me as the drachma hit the floor. Percy examined the drachma, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Why didn't it work?" he asked himself.

"Maybe 'cause we're in the labyrinth," said Melina. "We can't contact the outside world." Annabeth nodded.

"I think so too," she agreed. I plopped down on the floor, glancing at Melina. Her gold eyes looked more like honey; they always darken when she was deep in thought. Her thin pink lips were pressed in a thin line, and her jaw was set. I could practically see the gears moving in her head.

"Guys," she said. "Sophia's bracelet didn't work when she tried to teleport out of the labyrinth. It didn't say anything about teleporting to someone else in the labyrinth. So how about instead of trying to teleport out of the labyrinth, we teleport to that one entrance that you guys used to get in there. Then we exit that way." Annabeth was staring at her, amazed. Her expression changed to one I knew well, a calculating one. This daughter of Athena was analyzing the plan, looking for any flaws or loopholes.

"Gods, you should've been a daughter of Athena," she said. "That is a plan worthy of my mother. Let's try it." We all quickly packed, prepared to leave. I prayed to Poseidon and Athena that this would work. Melina came to my right, putting a hand to my shoulder. Annabeth and Percy came to my left, gripping my arm. I put a finger to my bracelet and closed my eyes, imagining the entrance. A flash of bright light, and we came face to face with that door. We whipped it open and ran out of the museum.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We head to Mount Olympus. It's on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building," replied Annabeth. She cursed under her breath. "It's two and a half miles from here. We can't run it, not in this condition." Percy winked at Annabeth and put his fingers in his mouth. He blew the loudest New York taxi whistle ever, nearly bursting our eardrums. A taxi arrived, and we all hopped in.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Empire State," Melina replied. Within a couple of minutes, the driver dropped us off right in front of the building. We quickly entered the building, and Annabeth grabbed a security pass after much arguing from the front desk guy. We entered the elevator, and Annabeth swiped the card. We shot up, and I thanked the gods that I wasn't afraid of heights. The elevator doors opened, and my jaw dropped.

Think of the prettiest city ever. Take that to the infinite power. Yeah, that was Mount Olympus. The designs were a mixture of modern and Ancient Greek styles. There were beautiful flowers in bloom everywhere. Some temples were grand, like Zeus's. Others were smaller, like Hebe's. Nonetheless, each of them was different and spectacular in its own unique way. Annabeth smiled smugly at our reactions.

"You like it?" she asked. "I spent all year designing it." Melina and I turned to Annabeth, shock evident on our faces.

"You designed this?" Melina and I said simultaneously. She nodded.

"I'm an architect," she said. "I never showed you my blueprints?" We shook our heads. Annabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go." Melina and I regained our composure and followed the two lovebirds as we headed up towards the thone room. A knot of dread began to form in my stomach and my knees grew weak. I was about to face a room full of gods that could incinerate me with just a glance. I just hope that when I delivered the terrible news, they wouldn't kill the messengers. I stopped right outside the throne room and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

I saw all the gods and the little courage I'd worked up dissapated. They were all staring at us. I looked down at myself and noticed that I was covered in dirt, dried blood, and gods know what else. Annabeth, Percy, and Melina didn't look any better. I met Poseidon's gaze, and he smiled, urging me forward. We all slowly walked forward to the center of the throne room. I went up to Zeus and curtseyed. The rest of the demigods followed my lead.

"My Lord," I said, feining confidence. Zeus waved his hand and we stood up. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Athena studying me and Melina curiously.

"Annabeth Chase, Perseus Jackson," Zeus said, nodding toward the two lovebirds. They acknowledged themselves as Zeus leaned forward, studying the two of us. "Annabeth, Perseus, can you two go and work on the newest temple? I want these two alone." He gestured to both of us. Percy shot me a regretful glance as they left. The door closed, and a silence fell over us, so thick it was tangible. Melina began nervously picked at her nails while I tapped my toe. Thankfully, after a minute, Zeus broke the silence. "Introduce youselves," he commanded, his gaze steely. I couldn't speak; I was terrified. Melina curtseyed.

"I am Melina Porter," she said. "Daughter of Poseidon." The court gasped as Zeus turned to Poseidon, picking up his lightning bolt. I flinched; this wasn't going to be pretty.

"YOU BROKE YOUR OATH TWICE!" Zeus boomed. Lightning cracked, leaving the scent of ozone behind. Poseidon picked up his trident, his eyes stormy.

"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T BROKEN YOUR OATH, BROTHER. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE!" Poseidon retorted. Melina and I exchanged terrified glances.

"ENOUGH!" Athena yelled. The two bickering brothers froze. They sagged, putting their weapons away. Athena leaned forward, her hands clasped beneath her chin. "I want to hear what they have to say."

"Fine," Zeus retorted. He glanced at me. "And you are?" Zeus asked. I curtseyed again, trying not to grimace as pain shot up my leg.

"I-I'm S-Sophia Holt," I managed to stutter. I swallowed my cowardice. "Daughter of Poseidon." Zeus began to glow uncontrollably, and Melina and I averted our gaze, afraid that he might lose control and reveal his true form. Hera put a hand on her husband.

"Get a grip," she said. Zeus turned to Poseidon and muttered something like I'll talk to you later in Greek.

"Melina," Athena said. "Come forward." Melina glanced at me nervously as she knelt at the goddess' feet. "You aren't like other daughters of Poseidon. You have a difficult life ahead of you." She met my gaze. "You both do." Her focus reverted back to Melina. "I foresaw your fate, and while you were in your cradle, I placed my blessing on you, granting you the gifts my children are naturally born with, only slightly more powerful. Beware though, your plans cannot fail, so you must always think before you do, or you might do something terribly rash. I hate children of Poseidon, so do not make me regret this decision."

"Thank you, mi'lady," Melina said. Athena nodded and Melina stoof up, walking toward me. "That explains a lot," she whispered. I agreed. A weird feeling came over me as I realized that I was the unspectacular one out of Poseidon's kids. I mean, Melina's been blessed by Athena, and Percy was the savior of Olympus, not to mention his amazing swordfighting and his Achille's curse. I felt like I was walking in a shadow. Don't take this the wrong way, I wasn't jealous or anything, but I kind of felt like I was the least wanted of Poseidon's children. I mean, look at me. I was just an orphan that sucked at everything and had tons of emotional baggage. There wasn't much about me that would make someone think of me as awesome or extraordinary. I wanted to prove myself worthy of being Poseidon's daughter. I wanted to make him proud.

Zeus interrupted my train of thought. "Sophia, Melina, you two are here for a reason. Do tell." Melina and I glanced at each other, neither of us wanting to be the one breaking the news. We had a stare down and I lost. I looked around the throne room, and I found that Hades wasn't here. I figured he'd want to know that his realm was going be a warzone soon.

"Uncle," I said slowly. "Can you please bring Uncle Hades? He'd want to know about this." Zeus raised his eyebrow at my request, but he snapped his fingers. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds then Hades, in all his Underworldliness, appeared beside Zeus in his abandoned throne.

"Brother," Hades said, "you called me?" Zeus gestured in front of him.

"These two of Poseidon's kids came with news. They said that you'd want to know it." Hades leaned back in his throne. I took a deep breath, careful how to proceed. I eyed Poseidon, and he smiled, urging me to go on.

"Earlier this week, Melina and I were attacked by a manticore at school. This was before we knew about our heritage, and we arrived at Camp Half Blood. Melina gets kidnapped after having nightmares about it, and Percy, Annabeth, and I were sent on a quest to go retrieve her. We found her deep in Labyrinth, after Annabeth got captured, with Nemesis holding her captive. They were tortured terribly. I even endured a torture session." I lifted my shirt to reveal the wound. "Nemesis has an army of giants and other monsters from the depths of Tartarus. She plans to get revenge for the defeat of the Titans in the first and second Titan War. She planned to start by infiltrating the Underworld, presumingly to release some of the undead into the real world. She then planned to overtake Olympus. She declares war."

A moment of stunned silence before the entire throne room burst into chaos.

**Well, the gods are obviously going to take this VERY well (sarcasm). Tune into next chapter! I have something very interesting planned out!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Pauve, pauve Sophia. Je suis trés mechante! Haha, Writersmagnet here! Poor Sophia. Those gods are not fun to see pissed off! Y'all better know the drill! Without further adieu, here's Chapter 21!**

Now, if you think you've ever seen chaos, trust me. You haven't until you see the throne room of Olympus after a fourteen year-old girl just warned some very tempermental gods about a war.

All the gods were pretty much screaming at each other. Some of them were screaming reasonable stuff like _what?_ or _this can't be happening_. Others were screaming stuff that had nothing to do with the situation, like Demeter, who was yelling something about how the consumption of cereal could've prevented this mess. Um, cereal? Don't ask. I'm as lost as you guys.

Melina and I just watched as the throne room went from chaos to practically a war. Apollo and Hermes were on the floor tackling each other. Athena and Poseidon were cursing each other. Hades and Ares were sword fighting. Artemis and Aphrodite were yelling at each other, fighting about love or something. What did that have to do with the situation? If only I knew.

I glanced at Melina. Her golden eyes looked beyond angry. Her jaw was set, and I could tell she was trying to control her anger. She hated this. Here were the gods just bickering while they should be preparing for war. Finally, I could see Melina's self control snap.

"STOP!" she bellowed. I winced at the rage in her voice. I couldn't believe someone as nice as Melina could have the capacity for that much rage. All the gods froze, staring at Melina. "You guys are acting like stupid little kids! Nemesis is out there with a freakin' army ready to turn you to dust, and you are just going to sit there and bicker amongst each other! _Di immortales!_ You guys are impossible! No wonder you needed your children to guard Olympus for you during the second Titan War. There was no way you could've won without them!" Oh, gods. They were not going to take that lightly. Zeus pulled out his lightning bolt, his body shaking with rage.

"What did you say?" Zeus asked, deadly calm.

"You heard me," Melina retorted. Zeus said a command.

Everything seemed to happen ins low motion. I saw the lightning bolt beginning to appear. He was going to shoot her. I pushed Melina out of the way. She fell as I took her place. I put my finger high in the air and caught the lightning bolt. A pain unlike any other filled my body. I felt the lightning travel through my body. I focused hard, remembering that our bodies were seventy-five per cent water. I pictured my blood carrying the lightning away from my heart, traveling through my veins to my other arm. I pointed my finger right above Zeus's head. The bolt of lightning obeyed my command, hitting the wall right where I was pointing. I stumbled, losing my balance. Pain overwhelmed me, and I realized how much energy that had taken out of me. Melina stood up and held me steady, concern in her eyes. All the gods were looking at me in pure shock except for Poseidon, who was smiling smugly.

"You forget, Zeus," I said weakly. "The human body is the perfect conductor of electricity." Zeus's eyes flashed murderously.

"How dare you-" Zeus was interrupted by Artemis.

"Leave the maiden alone," said Artemis. studying me. "She didn't mean you any disrespect nor harm." Zeus took a deep breath, sitting back in his throne. At this point, I was fighting to stay conscious. My knees began to tremble, and Melina used one arm to hold me up while she rummaged her pockets for any spare ambrosia. She came up empty. She sat me down, Her gold eyes widened at my shirt, and I looked down to find it soaked with fresh blood. The electricity must've messed with my whip mark. She lifted my shirt to assess the damage, and I could tell it was bad from the way she looked at it. She met my eyes, her gold eyes filled with pain.

"She's hurt!" Melina yelled. As if they didn't already didn't know. I could see Poseidon staring at me in concern, itching to rise from his throne and rush to my aid, but he couldn't without Zeus's permission.

"Brother, look at her." Hades said to Zeus. "I can feel her life force wavering."

"Let her die," scoffed Zeus. "Her being alive is a crime within itself." Poseidon's eyes filled with fury.

"That's not how you felt about Thalia!" Poseidon bellowed. "Imagine if Sophia was Thalia. You wouldn't have left her die like this!" Melina squeezed my hand as dark spots danced in my eyes. Zeus gave me a second glance. I probably looked terrible.

"Stay with me," begged Melina. I guess she came to the same realization I did; if I passed out now, I'd never wake up.

"Please, Father," said Artemis. Zeus sighed.

"Fine," he said. "But she better learn respect for me." Poseidon hopped off his throne and shrank to a more human size. He ran over, slowly picking me up cradle style. He smelled like the ocean, and I cuddled up against his chest. My eyelids began to droop, and I fought to stay awake. Artemis put a hand to my cheek. She was also in human form. I felt around person stand beside Artemis, probably her brother Apollo.

"Sleep, child," she murmured. "You'll feel better when you wake up." Her voice was hypnotizing, taking away all the pain I was feeling. I sighed as I fell into a dreamless sleep. I think, at this point, I can safely say that I've passed out way too many times.

I have no clue how long I was out of it. Consciousness began to play with me, swooping in and out of my grasp like a really slippery bar of soap. Eventually, I managed to actually open my eyes and stay that way.

The room I was in was pretty plain which I found slightly weird. I mean, this was freakin' Mount Olympus. The home of the gods. Wouldn't every room have to technically be fit for a god? Well, not the infirmary. Everything was perfectly white, from the walls, to the tile, to the bed. I was on a really comfortable bed. I noticed that I wasn't in my normal clothes anymore. I was in a regular nightgown. A lacy nightgown. I could feel the bandages that wrapped around my chest. I groggily looked down at my hand. My usually tan skin was deathly pale, and my face probably looked the same. There was a chair beside my bed, and I wasn't surprised to find Melina sleeping in it. The door opened and Apollo walked in. He was wearing a white shirt over muscled arms. His sandy blonde hair reminded me of a typical California surfer dude. Now that I think about it, he _did_ look like a California surfer dude. He looked like a coleege student who should be out partying or surfing or something, not a god who was stuck babysitting a fourteen year-old girl who was stupid enough to redirect lightning.

"Lightning girl's awake," Apollo mused. I glared at him as best as I could in my groggy state. He laughed as he came over kneeling beside me. He lifted the nightgown up to expose my chest. "Nemesis did this," he said as he unwrapped the bandages. "She enchanted the whip. I managed to break the curses. You and the others aren't bound to her anymore. I wanna make sure that rib is healing alright. It was bound to heal crooked when I first saw it. It should've healed all right now, but I wanna make sure. He began to apply pressure around the rib, feeling to make sure it healed straight. He nodded. He put the nightgown back down, not bothering to reapply the bandages. He healed most of it; now my body had to finish the rest.

"Thank you, Apollo," I said. He nodded.

"No problem. Just doing my job," he replied.

"How long was I out?" I asked. Apollo thought about it for a minute.

"A couple of hours," he said. "We wanted to make sure you were awake as soon as possible. We wanted more details about Nemesis's plans, and we needed the four of you to tell us." He glanced at Melina. "Your sister has some spunk. I like it." I laughed.

"She does," I agreed. Artemis entered the room, and Apollo left. "Lady Artemis," I said, bowing my head. Artemis sat down at the end of my bed.

"I'm happy to see that your doing okay," she said. "Thay was a risky thing to do child, and you gave us all quite a scare. Your father was furious at Zeus, and he probably would've killed him if it werent for the impending war. That's all us gods have been talking about." Artemis put a hand on mine. "You knew that lightning bolt was a killshot, and you took the blow, even though you knew it could, and probably would, kill you. Why, child?" I turned to gaze at Melina, who was still sleeping. Her lips were upturned in a smile, and I knew she was dreaming about something really nice. I began to drink in the fact that she was here, not kidnapped by gods. Her dreams were no longer haunted by images of someone who wanted to hurt her. She was here, safe and alive. I smiled and turned back to Artemis.

"She's more than a sister to me," I told Artemis. " She was the family I'd never had. We promised each other that we'd live through everything and anything together. She was there when no one else was. I'm very protective of her. I've alway been, and I always will be. I took the bolt for her because I'd rather myself die than her. I'm unwanted, hated by everyone, and I even carry way too much emotional baggage. Melina has a bright future ahead of her, and I wanna make sure _no one_ gets in the way of that." Artemis squeezed my hand.

"Spoken like a true Huntress," she said. She slipped a brochure in my hand. "If you want, I'd be happy to take you in." She got up and left. Percy and Annabeth ran into the room. Annabeth grabbed me in a bone cruching hug, _literally._ "Ow! Ow!" I yelped. "Broken rib!" Annabeth let go, apologizing.

"The second we heard what ha happened, we rushed over!" Annabeth said. "You okay?" I nodded.

"So you redirected lightning," Percy mused. I smacked him. His reaction was priceless, and Annabeth and I began laughing our butts off.

"Yeah," I told them when I composed myself. "Apparently I did." I gave them quick version of what happened.

"Cool!" Percy exclaimed. "You need to show me that sometime." This time, Annabeth smacked him.

"You do realize that the only way you could learn to do that would be if some actually struck you with lightning," Annabeth said.

"Ooooooohhh!" Percy replied as it dawned on him. Gods, he was slower than molasses. They talked for about ten more minues then left. I was surprised that Poseidon never came to greet me, but one more goddess decided to make an appearance. Athena entered the room. She leaned again the wall across from my bed, her arms folded. She was wearing a simple grey Greek style dress. Gold sandals gleamed on her feet. Her black hair was twisted in a messy updo, almost like she was too busy working on battle plans to care about her appearance which she probably was. Her grey eyes were cold and menacing as she stared me down. She had an aura of power, a menacing one. I did not want that woman hiding in my closet at night.

"Lady Athena," I said, bowing my head. She just stood there, staring me down.

"That was a stupid thing you did, Sophia," Athena said, a cold edge to her voice. I knew she was referring to the łightning incident, but I wasn't sure exactly what part she was talking about.

"Um," I began. "Lady Athena, what are you exactly-"

"If you have no clue as to what I'm referring to, then you are truly dumber than an ass, just like your father." said Athena. I was totally lost at this point.

"Lady Athena," I declared. "I know you're referring to the lightning incident, but-"

"You should've let Zeus do what he wished. You two are dangerous. If what I have figured out it true, then we're better off destroying you two. The problem is Poseidon would have my hide if I did that. You were foolish to jump in her place and redirect the lightning. Not only did you nearly kill my father-"

"I didn't _plan_ to kill him though-"

"-but you also just showed Poseidon that he could overpower Zeus. You just planted the seeds of rebellion, Sophia Holt. Your fatal flaw may just kill us all." She turned on her heel and left. Her words kept spinning in my head. Was she right? Was I going to cause a rebellion? A lump formed in my throat. I suddenly felt exhausted. I fell asleep, Athena's words haunting my dreams.

**Fatal flaw? Eek. That can't be good. Me no likey Athena. She's a meanie =( at least to Poseidon's kids (not including Melina) She's blessed by Athena. This becomes important in the sequels. By the way, this will be a trilogy, so don't forget to tune into the other after this! Follow me on Twit as writersmagnet! Love y'all, and review review REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I have a challenge pour vous. Sophia's mom will be revealed in later chapters. Who is her mom? Leave your guesses in the reviews! Onto Chapter 22**

If you ever get claimed a half-blood, and I end up being your best friend or you end up being my sister or something, there's one thing you need to know about me. I_'_m a _very_ light sleeper.

So you can guess that when Melina came over to wake me up that I was probably already semi- awake.

"Sophia," Melina said quietly, slowly shaking me. I turned to her, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "You feeling okay?" Melina asked. I nodded. "Don't ever do that to me ever again.," she scolded. She was _beyond_ pissed off. "Listen, I know you want to protect me, but I'm not weak. Let me take some blows once in a while. I can't bear to see you die because of my mistakes." Melina crossed her arms over her chest. We had a stare down, a sort of contest of wills. I lost, again.

"Fine," I said, defeated. She smiled.

"Now, come on," she said. "The gods are waiting." Memories flooded into my mind. Oh right. Nemesis. I stood up. The tile was cold under my bare feet, sending shivers up my spine. I was still in that nightgown. It was silk embroidered with lace, the fabric tumbling down to knees. It was really baggy, and I was happy about that. I hate tight sleepwear. Melina gave me a hair tie, and I hastily put my hair in a ponytail. She led me through the city back to the throne room. We entered, interrupting something Annabeth was saying. We walked forward, silmultaneously curtseying.

"Lord Zeus," I said. Zeus scoffed, obviously not pleased that I was still alive. I stood on the other side of Percy while Melina stood next to Annabeth. Zeus motioned for Annabeth to continue.

"Nemesis mentioned having giants on her side," Annabeth said, "as well as various titans. Atlas was one of the them that she mentioned. She wanted to sacrifice all three of Poseidon's children, saying something about needing a really powerful sacrifice to raise something really strong from the pits of Tartarus." All the gods suddenly paled. Even Aphrodite stopped putting on her makeup. Zeus and Athena had a five minute conversation in rapid fire Greek. The only words I was able to catch were _Earth_ and _Grandmother_.

Annabeth and Melina's eyes widened. They'd figured it out. Percy and I exchanged glances. In general, I suck at Greek mythology, so it wasn't surprising that I couldn't figure it out. I usually daydreamed in Mr. Stoick's Greek class. Percy looked totally lost as well. Annabeth's hand crept to her knife, which was strapped to her arm,

"Oh gods," she said. "Are-are you guys sure?" Athena grimly nodded.

"Um," I said, pointing to Percy and me. "We don't get it. What are you talking about?" Athena glared at me as the rest of the throne room rolled their eyes.

"Sophia," Poseidon said calmly. "You should probably go back to the infirmary and rest some more. The stress of this might-" I cut Poseidon off.

"Father, Apollo did a great job," I retorted. "I'm not weak. I can handle some bad news." All the gods shifted uncomfortably. Gods don't usually like being interrupted. Poseidon just sagged in defeat.

"Sophia, Percy," he began slowly, almost like he was wondering how to explain it. "Do you guys know the story of the creation of the gods?" We nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Gaea and Pluto-"

"_Uranus_," Poseidon corrected.

"- I _knew_ it was a planet! Well, anyways, Gaea and Uranus had kids, right? The cyclops and various other creatures. Uranus saw his children and had a total freak out, 'cause they were so ugly. He threw them in a pit and buried them, kind of lke Tartarus.-"

"Sound familiar?" huffed Hephaestus, eyeing his mother with distaste.

"Well, anyways," I continued, ignoring the interruption. "Gaea liked her kids, and she didn't want Uranus killing them, so she gave her son Atlas-"

"_Kronos," _Poseidon amended.

_"_-Kronos a scythe, telling him to kill his father. Kronos killed his father. And then Rhea, one of Gaea's kids, had kids with Kronos, the gods, and- oh." I finished, the realization dawning on me. _Grandmother._ That was Gaea. I glanced at Percy, who still looked confused. Gods, how could he still be lost after that?

"Okay," he said, "so from what I've figured out, we need to worry about Kronos again. Didn't we kill him last summer?" I facepalmed. Gods, he's an idiot. Annabeth, blushing, went up to her boyfriend and whispered the answer in his ear.

"Ooooh!" he said. I was tempted to smack him, but I held back. Instead, Annabeth smacked him.

"Anyways," I said. "Nemesis won't attack until Gaea awakens. She knows she'd lose without her, and she can't risk losing." I turned to Athena. "How powerful of a sacrifice would she need?"

Athena grimanced, almost like the fact hurt her. I don't blame her. I mean, if my evil great grandmother was about to wake up, I'd freak as well. Wait, Gaea _is_ my evil great grandma...damn. This Greek gods thing is confusing.

"You'd need a god or a set of three powerful half-bloods," replied Athena. All the gods except for Poseidon eyed us warily. Zeus lifted his lightning bolt.

"Oh no no no," said Percy, stepping front of us, sticking his hands out in front of Melina and I protectively. "Don't you _dare_ touch a hair on my sisters' heads." I had to admit, that was pretty brave of Percy. All these gods could've taken him down in a second, but Percy was holding his ground, almost as if challenging them to try. Out of the gods, Poseidon was the one who spoke, breaking the tense silence.

"Percy is right," he said, glancing at me. "We will not harm any of my children, unless, of course, you want to face _my_ wrath." Poseidon glared at the gods, daring them to try. Zeus put his lightning bolt, and I relaxed, releasing a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I drew Midnight and began to play with the blade, trying to send a message. _You mess with my siblings and friends, and I will personally carve your face open. _

Poseidon saw the knife and winked at me. I smiled back, and looked down at the blade some more, trying to ignore the glares I was recieving. After some minutes of tense silence, I broke it.

"Wait," I said uncertain. I turned to Athena. "There are three other children of the elder gods. Why does it need to be us?" Athena met my gaze, her cold, calculating eyes fixed on me in a sort of warning glare.

"A sibling bond is strongest," she said. "The blood spilled is almost the equivilant of the god itself, seeing as half of your DNA is ours. You three have the most powerful blood combined. I suggest you be careful. Especially you, Sophia." Her glare changed to something else...almost like pity. "You're, emotionally, the most manipulative. I thought Perseus would be," Her eyes flickered to Percy's direction but quickly reverted me. "-but you've suffered. You've felt true pain. That, with your fatal flaw, is a deadly combination. You are the weakest link in the chain, and I suggest you think before you do something rash. You cannot always recieve the benefit of the doubt." I looked away, feeling guilty that I could be so manipulative. I didn't like the idea of Gaea knowing how to trigger me. It made me feel weak, exposed somehow, like my deepest secret was being told to the entire world. Athena's cold gaze didn't help much either. She scared me, especially when I realized that if she had a plan to kill me, it would _not_ fail.

I must've paled or something because Percy put a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him. He studied my face in concern. "Sophia," he asked. "You should go rest. You're paling up." Athena's glare turned into something more amused. She knew she was the reason I'd paled up. I swatted his hand away.

"I-I'm fine," I replied, wincing at my stutter. "Honest." Melina peered at me from over Percy's shoulder. She mouthed _what's wrong_. _I'll tell you later_ I mouthed back. I don't think that she noticed Athena's attitude towards me. Poseidon, however, did.

"Athena," he said, a cross look directed toward his niece. "My daughter has not done anything to you. Do not size her up like a threat." Athena scoffed at my dad but said nothing more. She turned to me instead and fixed me a fierce look that sent chills down my spine. I shivered, probably turning whiter than a ghost. I cowered behind Percy to avoid her gaze. I hated looking like a coward, but Athena was probably the scariest goddess on the planet. Annabeth stood in front of me as well, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mother!" she exclaimed. "What is your problem with Sophia? She hasn't done anything to you." Annabeth drew her knife, ready to defend me. I quickly thanked the gods that I had such awesome friends.

"She is going to be the reason the gods fall!" Athena replied. "I would kill her myself if I had the choice! It's bad strategy to keep that little sea spawn _alive!_ Not only that, but she is an ungrateful little brat!"

Percy quickly hurried me out of the throne room and back to the infirmary. He didn't want me to hear the bad stuff Athena was going to say. I wrapped myself in the covers of my bed. Athena had taken all the warmth out of me, kind of like how a punch to the stomach would knock the air out of you. Her words echoed through my mind. _She is going to be the reason the gods fall._ _You are the weakest link_. I was hugging myself, silently crying. Percy sat next to me, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned into his chest and cried my eyes out. He played with my ponytail. He smelled like the ocean. The scent was comforting, but something about it was off. It felt like it shouldn't be Percy's scent I was breathing in, but someone elses.

"I don't blame you," he told me. "Athena can take all the confidence out of you. Besides, she usually hates Poseidon's kids. It took forever for her to let Annabeth and I date." My mind started to drift off. I thought of Leo, how he smelled like ash, how his rough, calloused hands were so soft when he brushed hair from my face...whoa. Why was I thinking like that? Percy was looking down at me. He grinned after a minute.

"Little Sister," he said. I scowled, not liking my nickname. "You have that look on your face."

"What look on my face?"

"The same one I had when I first fell in love with Annabeth."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Aww, my baby sister's in _love,"_ Percy joked, sarcastically batting his eyelashes. I slapped him.

"You're worse than Aphrodite!" I retorted. Percy beamed, finally finding something that ticked me off. I wiped my face and put a head on my pillow. Percy must've gotten the message; I was exhausted. My eyelids grew heavy and I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

**I would love to have Percy as a brother. He seems pretty chill, don't cha think? Not to mention hot...but don't tell Annabeth I said that! Haha, well, y'all know the drill. Just a quick note: THE SEQUEL TO THIS WILL BE CALLED MELINA: BOOK TWO OF SOPHIA! IT IS WRITTEN IN MELINA'S POV! I have a very solid plot lined up for it. It's much more organized than this, which I kind of came up with off the top of my head. Anyways, here's Chapter 23!**

At this point, I wanted nothing more than to leave Mount Olympus.

I woke up groggily, not in the least bit surprised to find my room empty. Everyone was probably still talking about the war. I stood up slowly. Someone had changed me out of the nightgown, and I was amazed as to how they could've done that without waking me up. I was now wearing a clean Camp Half-Blood shirt and some jeans. I was still barefoot though. I felt violated in that nightgown, so this obviously felt much better. I walked out of the infirmary and followed the long winding path to the throne room. I pushed both double doors open and was surprised to find only one god in the room. Poseidon was in his throne, absentmindedly playing with his trident. He wore a green Hawaiian shirt and some orange Bermuda shorts. He was listening intently to something Percy and Annabeth were telling him. Melina was no where in sight.

"-do you think that she'd like it?" Percy said, obviously not noticing the fact that I'd just entered. I coughed, and Percy turned around, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Oh gods. They were talking about me again. Honestly, I was starting to get really tired of it. By the sounds of it, though, they weren't saying anything bad, so I just dropped it. I began to curtsey, but remembered what Poseidon told me in his palace and stood up.

"Hi, Father." I said, averting my gaze. For some reason, I felt like I wasn't good enough to look my father in the eyes. Athena had said that I could be the downfall of the gods. How could Poseidon love me if he knew that I could turn my back on him and destroy the gods? Poseidon sighed, probably reading my thoughts.

"Percy, Annabeth, can I speak with Sophia alone?" he asked. "She and I have some important things to talk about." They both nodded and left the throne room, leaving me and Poseidon awkwardly silent. I shifted uncomfortably; I've always hated silence. When everything is quiet, I start to think, and if I start to think, bad memories come up. I prefer to avoid that.

"Dad-" I started, but he raised a hand, cutting me off.

"I know that what Athena said bothered you," he said sympathetically. "Don't take it personally. You are my daughter. She hates all of my children. I guess that's my fault."

"But she's right, Father!" I exclaimed. "I'm Gaea's secret weapon! If she manipulates me which isn't that hard, she can get to Percy and Melina. I'd be better off dead because the second Gaea manipulates me, you guys will cease to exist. You're not going to like me once I cause the downfall of Olympus, now will you?" I was almost yelling. I hate having a weakness, especially one that someone can exploit against me. It's been going on my entire life; people using me for their own personal gain or as entertainment. I thought once I was at Camp Half-Blood, with other people like me, it would stop. I was so stupid and naive to think like that. Poseidon's expression looked pained. I could tell he felt guilty for everything, from leaving me in the orphanage, to me feeling like this.

"No matter what you do," he said, "I'll still love you. I'm not the best father, and trust me, you'll hate me later. All I gave you was a hero's life, and a hero's life is always always _always_ tragic. I've done nothing for you because I _couldn't_. Zeus would fry you-"

"Well, at the moment, I'd rather be fried." Poseidon winced as though each word hurt him. I was serious. If I ever betrayed _anyone_ in that matter, I would slit my throat that second. I could never live with myself after that. The regret would eat at me like a maggot, slowly working its way through my body. I had trouble letting stuff go. Death would be a _much_ better alternative, even if I would end up in the Fields of Punishment. Poseidon leaned forward in his throne, his face riddled with guilt and regret.

"Sophia," he said calmly. He shrunk down to human size and walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were shining. "You are more like your mother than you can even imagine. She said the exact same thing to me when she found out she was expecting." At the mention of my mother, I just melted. I closed my eyes, wondering whether I should ask the question that was swirling around my mind. Poseidon was studying me. "Come on," he said, walking me out of the throne room. "You have the right to know who your mother is." We exited Mount Olympus, and Poseidon led me down a really secluded path. I would've never noticed it if Poseidon hadn't pointed it out. We walked for about five minues. The trees cleared up, and I gasped in wonder.

In front of me was a beach, I'm not talking about a normal beach. A regular beach is normal within itself, but this was breathtaking. Ok, close your eyes. Imagine the prettiest beach you can think of. Yep, chances are it was prettier than that. I don't know if being the daughter of Poseidon had anything to do with it, but I swear, it was just amazing. Poseidon smugly watched my reaction. I was at a loss for words, and it took a couple of minutes before my ability to speak returned.

"Th-this is _beautiful!_" I exclaimed. Poseidon smiled. He waded into the surf, and I followed, the salt water filling me up with energy. Poseidon dived and so did I. Under the water, we both were in air bubbles. Poseidon turned to me and grinned, drawing his trident. He shot a burst of power at the water in front of us, and an image appeared.

An image of my mother.

**Who's Sophia's mommy? And why did she dump her off at an orphanage to begin with! Cliffy! The next chapter will reveal the mom, so how many of you guys guessed right? We'll see, won't we?**


	24. Chapter 24

**Writersmagnet here! Oh em gee! The mommy will be revealed! How many of y'all guessed it? Here's Chapter 24!**

I'm usually not a speechless kind of person. I almost always have something to say. Not this time.

A hand went to my mouth as a familiar face showed up in the water. I honestly didn't know what to feel or say or even think. I've always imagined my mom as someone I never knew. This was just totally unexpected.

I should've seen the similarities though. The way her hair fell to her shoulders, the way her face scrunched up in worry. Even our eyes looked the same, minus the eye color.

My mother was Sally Jackson.

Poseidon smiled lovingly at the image. "She was a queen among mortals. I had never met a woman like her in a thousand years," said Poseidon, his eyes shining. A tear fell down my face. I didn't know whether it was a happy tear or a sad one. I turned to Poseidon, and he eyed me sadly. "She wanted to keep you," he said mournfully. "She really did. But keeping you and your brother together in the same house, neither of you would live. Both of your scents would be so powerful, attracting the worst of monsters. She knew this, and she wanted to keep both of you safe. She took you to an orphanage out of state, hoping that you'd be faraway enough and with enough mortals to mask your scent."

"So she sent me away to protect me?" I asked, my voice small. "She didn't hate me?" Poseidon smiled sadly.

"Yes she did. And she loved you with all her heart." I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. I'd always thought that I was abandoned because my parents didn't want me. I mean, I was hated at the orphanage and by people who were adopting other kids. Why would my parents be any different?

"Does she know that I'm her daughter?" I asked again. Poseidon nodded his head.

"She just found out now," he said. "She just Googled your name and found out that you are in the same orphanage she left you at."

"So Percy doesn't know?"

"No."

"So you're saying that I'm going to have to break it to him?"

"Your choice," he said. "He does have a right to know eventually, though." I didn't disagree with him. The problem was the awkwardness of going up to someone who they were an only child their entire life and saying 'Hey, by the way, I'm your long lost biological sister!' Come on. That was bound to put a twist in your pants.

"I think I'll let Sally-Mom tell him," I told Poseidon. He shrugged.

"Okay." We exited the water, and Poseidon led me back to the throne room. Outside of it, he turned around. "Sophia, tomorrow you and the others will go back to Camp. I'd feel better if the godlings knew about the war. Tell Chiron to begin war preparations. Nemesis could literally strike any minute." I nodded my head. "Annabeth and Percy are at my brother's temple. It's the largest one. You can't miss it." Poseidon entered the throne room, leaving me to find the two lovebirds. Now, Olympus was huge. Thankfully, the temple was bigger. It took me maybe three minutes to walk to the temple. It was huge all right. Lightning bolts were carved into a bronze door. I pushed the heavy doors.

I could spend hours describing the temple, so let's see if I can do it in five sentences.

The temple was entirely gold and marble. There was a giant statue of Zeus with his lightning bolt in his hand. Greek columns lined the hall. There was a huge dome at the top made of stained glass, the glass depicting various happenings from the Greek stories, like when Rhea gave Kronos the rock instead of Zeus. There were various benches around the temple, and a small area for offerings. There. Those were my five sentences.

Annabeth and Percy were sitting on a bench, discussin strategy. I was surprised Percy could even follow what Annabeth was saying. I coughed, and they both looked up, finally acknowledging my presence.

"Hey," greeted Annabeth.

"Hey," I replied. I sat down beside them. "If you're going to talk strategy, why are you In Zeus's temple? You'd be better off in Athena's." Percy and Annabeth exchanged uneasy glances. They stayed quiet for a minute or two, having a silent debate. I frowned, not liking the secrets that were being kept from me. "Where's Melina?" I asked, changing the subject.

"She should be in the arena," Percy replied. "She wanted to practice swordfighting." I nodded my head and left Zeus's temple, running for the arena.

I walked in to find Melina sparring against a cloud nymph. Her dishwater blonde hair was tied at the nape of her neck in a messy ponytail. A couple of strands near her face has escaped, framing it. Her cheeks were flushed from fighting, and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She was in full Greek battle armor, wearing a blue shirt underneath. The cloud nymph was good, scary good, but Melina was better. I watched, in awe, as Melina disarmed the nymph and pointed Moonlight at his throat. I couldn't believe Melina learned that much in only the few days we were at camp. She turned to me, only noticing my entrance now. She sheathed Moonlight, smiling at me.

"Good afternoon," she said.

"Good afternoon, O Swordfighting Goddess," I replied jokingly. "But I could still beat your butt to Hades."

"Oh really," she challenged.

"Really."

"Then I challenge you," she replied. I smiled, pinching my necklace and drawing Lightning.

"You're on!" I retorted. I walked to the middle of the ring and began analyzing Melina as a battle opponent. Her eyes darkened, and I realized she was doing the same to me. I forgot she was blessed by Athena. After a minute, we met each other's eyes, silently agreeing to start the battle now. I slashed, and Melina easily dodged. She stabbed, and I sidestepped, parring another one of her strikes.

The fight went on for about ten minutes, both of us equally matched. The match ended when I hit Melina's wrist with the flat side of my blade, and her sword skidded out of her hand. I pointed my sword at her throat, and she scowled.

"You just got lucky there," Melina grumbled between heavy breaths.

"I'm with you on that," I replied, panting. "I was wondering if this fight was ever going to end." Melina pulled out some ambrosia from her pocket and we each took a square, savoring the chocolatey taste. We sat down on a nearby bench and rested, mainly catching our breath. I turned to Melina, who pulled out Star?

"Knife fight?" she asked, a gleam in her eye. I grinned, drawing Midnight.

"You're on!"

We fought each other until it grew dark. The fights were always interesting because, though we were evenly matched, we had two totally different fighting styles. Mine was controlled and light-footed, but I always played by instinct. Melina's was more chaotic, but don't let that fool you. Her moves were organized fights like a chessboard, each move flawlessly connected to the next, forming a quiet checkmate. In ability, we were equals. As for how we fought, we were totally different people.

Our last fight ended with me on the ground. Melina was kneeling beside me, Star at my throat. We stayed like that for a couple of seconds before Melina stood up, staring at the dark, starry sky. We could barely see each other in the dark. , but the moon was shining bright enough to deter my phobia. I stood up, brushing the dirt off my shirt. Melina and I walked to a nearby bench. She began to take off her armor, and I pressed the trident in the middle of my armor, turning it back into a necklace. Lightning appeared at my side, tightly stapped to my waist. Midnight reappeared on my finger. I helped Melina undo her straps, and we took her armor back to the armory. She turned to me afterwards.

"I don't wanna go to bed," she said. I eyed her suspiciously. "I wanna do something." I shrugged my shoulders in reply.

"Like what?" I asked. She threw her hands up in the air in response.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Just something." I thought deeply about stuff to do. We could go do some archery, but, chances are, we'd need Apollo to supervise since I'd probably shoot Melina or something instead of the target. I thought some more and something came to me. I smiled.

"How about we swim?" I asked. Melina smiled, happiness evident on her face. Unless you're a child of Poseidon, you don't understand the euphoria that comes with swimming for us. The water revives us, bringing out a whole other side of our personality. In the water, it's our dormain. The only place where we don't have to worry about what ever is going on at the moment. Our worries immediately disappate, gone with the waves temporarily as we dive through the water. It feels like flying. I could live in the water forever, swimming with the fish, but demigods are half human, therefore we do belong on land. But land cannot imprison us forever for we all find a way back to sea, amongst the waves. I led Melina back to the beach Poseidon had showed me. Her reaction to the view was identical to mine. We dived in the waves. playing around. I'd never felt more free in my entire life. We swam, joking around, splashing each other, until we tired. We lay on the sand next to each other, just admiring the sky.

"Sophia?" Melina asked, breaking a long silence.

"Mhm?"

"Do you ever think about why your mom left you?" Whoa. That question totally caught me by surprise. Melina wasn't the kind of person to go all philosophical at random moments. That was my job. I scanned the sky, wondering how to respond.

"I do," I told Melina. "A lot." I could see Melina absentmindedly stroking the inside of her wrist. She had a scar there from a time when her mom was really angry. She usually avoided the topic of her mom, always pretending everything was normal at home. She never told me exactly what happened, and I never pushed. I can't count the number of times she'd slip through the orphange window into my room at night, crying and staying the night. Ms. Blaisier, the head of the orphanage, had no problem with it, thankfully.

"Do you hate your mother for doing what she did?" asked Melina. I thought about that for a minute, really wondering how to respond.

"I don't," I responded. "I mean, I'd rather she kept me, but look at me. I grew up. I made friends. I had a decent life. And now, I've found a home; a place where people love me for ME. A place where I BELONG. In the long run, everything that happened to me and will happen to me, will be for the better. It will make me the person I am, and I don't think I'm the worst person on Earth. What I'm trying to say is, sure, if I'd lived with my mom, life would've been different, but I'd never have the chance to just be ME." Melina nodded. "Poseidon showed me my mom today." Melina shot up like someone had pulled on her marionette strings too hard.

"He did?" she began excitedly. I exhaled.

"Yeah. Looks like I'm Percy's biological sister."

"Whoa!" Melina practically screamed. She begged for details, and I told her the entire story. "Does he know?" she asked when I finished. I shook my head.

"I'm leaving Mom to deal with that," I replied, smiling. Melina hugged me.

"I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed. We stood up and headed our separate ways. I was so drained that when my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

**How many of you guys were right? Ahaha, well this story isn't finished. Yet. Theres about three more chapters, and then Melina: Book Two of Sophia, will come next! I'm so excited! I'm sure you guys will love it!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Writersmagnet here! THIS CHAPTER IS IMPORTANT! Anyways, they go back to Camp here to deliver the news about Nemesis. How will the Camp handle it? Read and see!**

That night, I had my worst demigod dream yet.

From what I could figure out, I was standing in a room. The room was pitch black, except for a lady standing in the middle. She had a bright aura of light. My stomach did somersaults when I recognized the figure. _Nemesis._

She was wearing a billowing black dress with matching sandals. Her hair tumbled freely down her back. She had a blood red sword in her hand that glowed dimly with light. I winced as I remembered the pain that sword had caused me. Nemesis was kneeling on the ground by a puddle of mud, chanting in Ancent Greek.

_"O Mistress of the Earth, I summon you from your slumber,"_ said Nemesis. The puddle bubbled as the mud slowly rose, forming the face of a sleeping women. Gaea.

"Did you capture those Poseidon brats?" Gaea purred. Her voice was breathless and girlylike, sounding more like a blissful teenager, with menace packed into it. Nemesis shifted unconfortably.

"Not yet, mi'lady-" Nemesis began, her voice small. Gaea cut her off, obviously infuriated.

"YOU HAVE FAILED ME!" Gaea screamed. I winced at the anger packed in her voice. She was beyond mad at this point. She probably would've disintegrated Nemesis if it weren't for the fact that she probably didn't have that kind of power yet.

"Wait, mi'lady," Nemesis defended. "I have a plan. One of those barnacle brats, I've figured her out. She's different than the other three. I can use that to our advantage." Nemesis lifted a tiny vial of a brown-like liquid. "Give me a year," Nemesis begged. Gaea sighed.

"Fine. But get that sea spawn out of here," she said. "She's been listening in for a while." Nemesis locked eyes on me, and I froze. I was harshly pushed out of the dreams, jolting awake.

I looked out the window of the infirmary. It was still dark, but the dream had chilled me to the bone, down to the point where sleep was probably impossible now. I had to tell someone about my dream though.I left the infirmary, talking a walk. The cool, night air blew in my face, the sweet taste of dew thick in the air. I let my feet take me wherever they pleased.I found myself at the beach. I sat in the sand, my feet in the receding tide. The constant rhythm of the waves brought me some comfort, and the water gave me some strength. I stared at the horizon, thinking deeply about the dream. The first few bits of daylight shattered the darkness.

What was that brown stuff she had? Was it...gods forbid..._poison? _No. It couldn't be. She needed us to be alive to sacrifice us. She wouldn't just go and kill us..._right?_

But if that's the case, then who would she want to poison? It didn't make sense.

What weakness did they find that they could use? Was it me? Nemesis _did_ use the pronoun 'she'. Was it mine? Or Melina's? Probably mine.

My head hurt from all the _buts_ and _what ifs_ spinning around in my mind. I didn't like variables. I always liked it when things were straight forward, with a specific date or specific rules. I love it when everything is black and white. I'd rather never touch the grey area, but of course, that isn't possible. I sighed. I wasn't a daughter of Athena. I could never figure this out. If I told my dreams to Melina or Annabeth, maybe they could figure it out, but I wasn't going to tell them. It sounds selfish, I know, but I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it. Besides, it wasn't like Nemesis was going to poison one of us or something. At least, I hope not.

I stayed there until the sun was totally out. I decided now would be a good time to leave, since it was pretty hot. I stood up and went to find Annabeth, Percy, and Melina. I found them all in the arena. Annabeth was teaching Melina a new knife techinque while Percy was sparring with a cloud nymph. All three of them were in full bronze Greek battle armor. I walkd up to Percy as he finished with the nymph.

"Good morning," I said. He turned around, not hearing me walk up to him. He smiled in surprise.

"Hey," he said. He bradished his sword. "Wanna spar?" I drew Lightning and pinched my necklace, rolling my eyes.

"No," I replied, my voice thick with sarcasm. _"_I don't spar at like nine in the morning. Hell yeah!" He scowled.

"You're on, Holt." _Jackson_ I thought in my head, but obviously didn't correct him.

While we were fighting, I had one thing to say. Percy was _good_. Scary good. All my senses were on high alert. I barely had the time to react to his movements. My ADHD was going crazy, and I could see that Annabeth and Melina had stopped their lesson to watch us fight. Percy was really pushing me hard. He kept trying to disarm me, but I was fast enough to retaliate before he could. I feinted left and he fell for it. I twisted the hilt of his blade and Riptide skidded away. I pointed my sword at his throat.

Total silence. No one moved. Not even me. After about a minute, I sheathed Lightning, the sound shattering the silence. Percy smiled.

"You _have_ to show me that!" exclaimed Percy between pants. "That one sword thing with the leg you did? _Genius!_" I grinned back.

"It was something I picked up when I took Taekwondo," I told him, also panting hard. I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. I turned my head to face Annabeth.

"How long were we fighting?" I asked. "I'm exhausted."

"About a half hour," she said. Damn. That long?

"It was a pretty long fight," said Melina. She studied us analytically for a minute. "Sophia, watch your right side. You tend to leave that undefended. Percy, make sure you don't fall for feints. The feint that Sophia did would've costed you your life if it weren't for your Achille's heel. Sophia, your better weapon is a sword. Use Midnight only when you can't use Lightning." I nodded. I'd noticed this already. My brows furrowed as I remembered what Poseidon had told me the night before.

"Poseidon told me that we have to go back to camp," I said. The others nodded. "He wanted to make sure Chiron knew about the impending war. Besides, we need to prepare." Annabeth, Percy, and Melina removed the armor they borrowed and grabbed their stuff.

"_Vlacas!"_ Annabeth cursed as she put her armor away. "I forgot all about camp. Percy, hurry! We need to go!" I rolled my eyes and pointed at my bracelet.

"This will get us there faster," I told Annabeth. She nodded. Percy came over. Melina grabbed my arm and Percy and Annabeth stood to my left, clinging on to my sleeve. I closed my eyes and pictured the top of Half-Blood Hill. I opened my eyes, relieved to find my bracelet worked. We were standing beside Thalia's tree. A dragon guarded a shimmery gold blanket looking thing that sat on the tree's branches. By the look of the emptiness of the camp, they were all in the pavilion.

"Come on," I urged. "They're in the pavilion. It's breakfast." We all ran to the pavilion. The entire place was crowded with half asleep campers whowere talking amongst themselves. They all silenced when we ran in. We probably looked like hell. We hadn't showered since we left Sally-_Mom's_- gods that's going to take some getting used to- house. Melina and I had swam at the beach, but I don't think that counts since there wasn't any soap there. Annabeth had some cuts on her face that looked worse than they were. The gash on Melina's forehead which I had tried to stich up looked terrible, black nylon thread sticking out from the wound. In general, we all looked pretty beat up, and we didn't even know how long we'd been gone since we'd been in the was looking at us in shock except for Chiron who looked relieved. I looked down at my leg to find it still bandaged from the scorpian wound, and so was my arm from the poison from the Ismeian Dragon. They were dirty and covered in blood, but Apollo apparently hadn't seen a need to take them off. I'd been wearing them for so long I hadn't remembered I was still wearing them. There was a moment of thick silence which Percy conveniently shattered for me.

"Hi guys," he said like nothing had happened. "Anyone know today's date?"

"August 10!" some kid shouted. Great. We'd been gone for a three and a half months . No wonder they were looking at us funny. Stupid Labyrinth. Chiron trotted toward us in centaur form.

"Let us go to the Big House and discuss this," Chiron said, leading us away from the pavilion. We headed to the Big House. As we entered, Mr. D, who was at the meeting when I redirected the lightning, muttered something under his breath about shocking some sense into Zeus. We sat down at a table, Melina to my right, Percy and Annabeth to my left. Chiron sat across from us in wheelchair form, leaning forward.

"Tell me everything."

We did. Percy and I told our side, with Annabeth being kidnapped and everything else. Annabeth and Melina talked more about what had happened when she was held captive by Nemesis. Then, together, we told them about Mount Olympus. When Melina was talking about how I redirected lightning, Chiron glanced at me, no expression on his face. I turned red. He waved at Melina to continue. I talked about my meetingwith Poseidon, carefully leaving out when he revealed my mom. Chiron raised an eyebrow, noticing that I'd left something out. I shot him a look that said _I'll tell you later. _

When we finished out tale, Chiron frowned. "That is not like Nemesis at all," he said. "To demand revenge and team up with Gaea. I find that strange." I winced and put a hand to my side, remembering the awful memory of the whip.

"She did," I said. "I have the dreams and the whip mark to prove it." I watched as Annabeth and Melina each touched a wound caused by Nemesis and winced at the memory. Percy winced as Annabeth winced, and he put an arm around his girlfriend, kissing her.

"I won't let that happen to you again, Wise Girl," he promised, whispering it romantically as he put his head in her hair. I supressed the urge to _awwww_. They truly loved each other to death. Chiron turned grim.

"Another war, huh?" he said. "Melina, Annabeth, Percy, go to the pavilion. Eat some breakfast. I'll tell the camp at dinner. Sophia, stay here. I have to talk to you privately." The three of them stood up and left the Big House. I watched them leave, waiting until the door closed before reverting my attention to Chiron.

"What is it?" I asked. He leaned forward.

"Sophia..."he began,"Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

And I told him about what Poseidon had showed me. I told him about Athena. I told him about everything, minus the dream. I didn't want to freak everyone else. Besides, we had a war to prepare for. That should be enough of a scare. I didn't need to add my nightmare to that. When I told him what Father had said about my mom, Chiron didn't look surprised.

"I had my suspicions," he said when I questioned him about it. "I will take it that Percy doesn't know yet?"

"No," I confessed. "I didn't want to be the one to tell him. I'm hoping Mom will." Chiron frowned, but dropped the subject as I continued talking. When I finished, Chiron sent me to breakfast, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I went to my cabin and took a shower which felt amazing after the grimy quest. I quickly straightened my hair with a straightener some Aphrodite camper gave me and headed to my first class, swordfighting

The day flew by in a blur afterward. We did get to burn our burial shrouds. When people go on a quest, cabins or cabinmates make burial shrouds in case someone doesn't come back. When they were burning Melina's, I winced, thinking about how close she was to being burned along with it. The Hephaestus cabin took up the responsibility to make mine. It was a deep turquoise, matching my armor. It was made out of silk and was covered in little fish. It was a shame to burn it. The Aphrodite had taken the task of doing Percy's, They apparently teamed up with the Athena cabin to make them have matching shrouds. They were both hot pink, but Annabeth's was covered in owls while Percy's rippled in the flames, looking like waves. I saw Annabeth sneak a kiss on Percy's cheek when the fire was burning. While I was watching their shrouds getting burned, someone came up behind me and grabbed me by the neck. I thrashed around and drew Midnight. _Oh crap_,I thought._ This was what the dream meant. I was screwed._ The person suddenly let go and I whirred around, relieved to find only Leo.

"VALDEZ!" I screamed. "WHAT IN THE GODS WERE YOU_THINKING?"_ Leo was laughing his butt off. I rolled my eyes.

"I swear, you should be in the Herme's cabin." I mumbled, still _very_ pissed off. I pressed the trident on Midnight and it became a ring.

"Just wanted to make sure the Little Fishy-" I glared at his nickname for me. "-is all in one piece." I punched him in the cheat playfully.

"Don't you have any weapon stuff to do, Fire Boy?" I replied. His eyes widened, and he cursed in Greek.

"I forgot about the armor I ha to finish! Crap! See ya later, Fishy!"

"IT"S SOPHIA, VALDEZ!" I screamed after him. Someone put a hand on my shoulder and turned around to find Melina.

"You like him!" Melina squealed playfully. I blushed really red.

"No, I don't," I mumbled. Melina drew a heart in midair.

"Sophia and Leo sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"PORTER!" I screamed. "I will **_KiLL_** you!" Melina ran, continuing to chant the rhyme while I chased her, Midnight in hand. She made the mistake of running to the river. I concentrated, sending a huge wave to come out of the river and grab Melina. A tug in my gut, and Melina was in the river, perfectly dry.

"Big mistake," I told Melina, imitating an evil voice. "Now you will _pay!" _She laughed as I spashed her with some water. We had a water fight that lasted until the conch bell rung. Oh right.

It's dinner. Now the entire camp will learn about the war. Melina must've realized the same thing, a look of horror was plastered on her face. She got out of the river and we hurried to dinner, hoping the camp would still be the same afterwards.

**Phew! This is one of my longer chapters! Don't forget to follow me at Writersmagnet on Twitter! Next chapter will be second to last, then onward to MELINA: BOOK TWO OF SOPHIA! WOOT!**


	26. Chapter 26

**How did the Camp handle it? Will Camp still be the carefree place Sophia considers home? Let's find out! Y'all know the drill! **

By the time we got to the pavilion, Chiron was going to start his announcements. We quickly sat at the Poseidon table beside Percy, who was listening intently to Chiron. He'd paused, wondering how to continue.

"As you all know," Chiron began, "Sophia, Annabeth, and Percy went on a quest three months ago to rescue Melina, who'd been kidnapped. I'm afraid they have returned with some terrible news. This camp must prepare for war."

The second those words came out, the entire camp broke out in harsh whispers.

"Nemesis," Chiron said loudly over the campers, who immediately silenced. "has teamed up with Gaea and other various monsters from the depths of Tartarus. She plans to take revenge on the gods for both TItan Wars. Therefore, we must make war preparations." Chiron looked older. Bags appeared under his eyes as his eyes held thousands of years of pain. He was worried. He'd seen so much death. It was kind of sad. He then dismissed us all from the pavilion, and we all headed to our cabin. Melina took a shower as I took the bandages off my arm and leg. Both of them had healed fully. There was a knock on the cabin door, and I opened it to find Leo standing there.

"Hey," he said casually, like he wasn't afraid of being caught by the flesh eating curfew harpies.

"Dude!" I hissed. "It's past curfew! What in Zeus are you doing here? You're gonna get caught!" He put a hand behind his head.

"Listen, um, I-" I cut him off.

"Go to your cabin!" I urged, not wanting to battle the harpies. "Tell me tomorrow!" I closed the door and watched him walk off. Melina had already gotten out of the shower and was on the bed. She'd seen the entire thing while polishing Moonlight. Her limp, wet hair looked almost black from the water, even though she was a dishwater blonde. She sighed.

"Sophia," she said. "He was trying to ask you out. Don't make this much harder than it need to be for the poor guy." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Since when have you been a love expert?" I retorted. She sighed again.

"It doesn't take a daughter of Aphrodite to notice the signs. He made you magical armor, he blushes when he's around you and gets all awkward, and now he's been constantly trying to tell you somethig but either you make it awkward or he doesn't have the guts to say it. It doesn't take Aphrodite to know the signs, it just takes an observant person." She went back to polishing Moonlight.

I realized she was right. I WAS making it way too hard on the poor guy. And, secretly, I liked him back, though I guess it's not a secret anymore since Percy and Melina had figured it out. Annabeth probably did as well, seeing as she's a daughter of Athena as well. I sighed, plopping down on my bed.

"You're right," I told Mleina. "It's just...I don't know what to do. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship..." I trailed off. Melina put Moonlight down at sat beside me on my bed.

Melina put Midnight on her bed and sat down beside me, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sighed.

"Listen," she commanded, "I'm no expert on love. Heck, I've never been asked out, but look, I know you aren't comfortable now. But you're leaving camp next week. If it doesnt feel right yet, leave him hanging. Avoid him. Do what you just did right now. That way, you at least have a year to think about it. A lot can happen in a year." I nodded and glanced at her playfully.

"Melina, that was _deep_," I commented. "Have you been reading romance novels?" Melina made a face at the thought.

"Ew! Never in a million years." At that moment, Percy exited the shower, calling lights out. I hadn't realized how tired I was until my head hit an impossibly soft pillow, and I quickly succumbed to sleep.

The week flew by. I loved every minute of it, but I was sad to leave. I hugged Melina as we exchanged our goodbyes. I felt bad for Melina; she was going to be the only person in the Poseidon cabin. I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted me to stay, but I had no choice. Besides, the camp needed a master strategist to take over while Annabeth was gone. I'll admit it, I cried a little. Camp Half-Blood was my home. I was very reluctant to leave it. Melina, though, promised she'd visit when she had time, and when I asked her when, she had a devious twinkle in her eye, saying something very cryptic. I was confused. I mean, my birthday was not until the end of September, so that was out. What else was there?Anyways, Chiron was nice enough to call a taxi for me so I could go back to New Jersey. I didn't bring anything except Midnight since Lightning would've been too hard to conceal among the kids at the orphanage. When the taxi stopped right outside the orphanage, I tossed some money in the fromt seat and exited te car, dreading the next nine months I had to live in that miniature Underworld. I took a deep breath, entering the orphanage.

Nothing had changed since I'd left. Everything was grey. The drabby mahogany moth eaten curtians still hung over a shabby window. The carpet was grey, and I could see fruit punch stains from the time I had to babysit the liittle kids. Old, Victorian dark green style wallpaper was strating to peel. There was a huge desk when you walked in where Mrs. Holt sat. She was an old lady about sixty or seventy. She had straight, permed hair that was grey. Her lips had a dark coat of blood red lipstick that just made her look older and emphasized her crooked teeth. Her large, round glasses, sat on her nose as she cautiously flipped through papers with her arthritis ridden hands. She'd given me her last name since I didn't have one. The only reason they knew my name was Sophia was because the blanket I came in had my name sewn on it. I still have the blanket.

Mrs. Holt looked up and saw me.

"Where have you been this time?" she asked me, concerned. Mrs. Holt was the only nice person at the orphanage. She'd practically raised me. When I had parent teacher conferences, she'd come as my replacement for my mother. She got out of her desk and ran over to me, hugging me."You had me worried sick when you didn't come back from school! Where did you go? Are you okay?" She blasted me with questions.

"Mrs. Holt, I'm _fine_. I just went to summer camp. I told you about it right before I left for school. Remember?" I told her. The good thing about Mrs. Holt is that her memory stinks. Honestly, she can't remember anything. Sometimes, when I sneak out, I tell her that she let me go. She believes me. She's the only person in the orphanage that actually likes me, but, to tell the truth, I don't think Mrs. Holt could hate anyone. She's such a sweet lady, and I really hated decieving her but sometimes, it's for the better.

Mrs. Holt thought about it for a minute. "You may be right," she said. "I vaguely remember you saying something like that. Well, anyways, you should go and babysit the younger kids. They're driving Mrs. Murphy absolutely bonkers!" I groaned. Home sweet home.

"I'll get right to it," I replied, no enthusiam in my voice. I headed down the corridors to the children play section.

Gods, the first couple of weeks at the orphanage were hell. The kids constantly wouldn't leave me alone, making fun of me, hurting me, and various other things. I spent most of my time crying in my bedroom, praying to the gods to save me.

The gods answered my prayer.

**Oooh! Cliffy! How did the gods answer her prayer? Tune in to the final chapter to find out. THE SEQUEL WILL BE CALLED MELINA: BOOK TWO OF SOPHIA! I HOPE YOU KNEW THAT BY NOW!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Final chapter, guys! THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL CALLED MELINA: BOOK TWO OF SOPHIA! But y'all probably knew that by now! Without further adieu, here's the conclusion of Sophia: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction!**

I was mopping the floor of my room. It had a thick layer of dust that I hadn't gotten the motivation to clean until today. The mopping helped me think.

_You shall find your friend deep in the West_. We found Melina in the West part of the Labyrinth. Check.

_A decision made shall cause unrest_. Daedalus' decision to tie the Labyrinth to his wife's body left the Labyrinth still open which caused unrest. Check.

_A lover's vow hung in the air_. Daedalus' had vowed to see his wife before he died, but he didn't, so technically his vow 'hung in the air'. Check.

_A promise forgotten shall cause despair_. This was the one that really confused me. It still hadn't come true. What promise? Was it the one where I vowed to protect Melina? Or maybe it was Percy's. It was probably the promise that the gods used to have about not having kids. Yeah. That had to be it. Check

_A curse untold should one beware_. Percy had to avoid being cursed by Nemesis's whip or sword. Check.

_And a secret hidden must be shared_. Annabeth kept the secret of Daedalus and the Labyrinth, but she had to share it in order to help us find Melina. Check.

Camp Half-Blood seemed like a dream, like something unreal. I would've dismissed it as a dream if it weren't for Midnight that always sat on my finger. It just seemed too good to be true. I mean, come on. There was no way a weird, unloved kid was going to belong anywhere. It just wasn't possible, but the second I see the ring on my finger, I smile, knowing I was going to be okay.

My thoughts were interrupted with someone knocking on the door. I went and opened it, surprised to find Mrs. Holt standing there with a smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, wondering why she was here. Mrs. Holt never entered someone's room unless it was something really important. She rushed up to me, embracing me in a hug. She caught me totally off guard. "Mrs. Holt, the suspense is killing me!' I complained. "What is it?" She pulled away, tears in her eyes.

"We have a family here," she said, "whose interested in adopting a fourteen year-old girl. Sophia, come on. They want to meet you first before they decide." I blinked, astonished. For some reason, someone was actually interested in adopting me. "Change," Mrs. Holt demanded. I looked down at what I was wearing. I wore a pair of grey sweatpants and a baggy red shirt that said 'I'm not short, I'm fun sized'. My hair was tied in a high ponytail. I shrugged.

"What's wrong with my appearance?" I asked.

"No one will adopt you if you look like that," she emphasized. I rolled my eyes.

"If they're going to adopt me," I said, "then they should know me for who I am. This is how I dress. If they don't like it, they're going to have to deal with it." Mrs. Holt sighed; she knew fighting with me was a lost case. She led me to another room, the one where we have adoption interviews. She gave me a pat on the back for good luck. I took a deep breath and opened the door. My mouth nearly fell open when I saw who was going to adopt me. Paul, Sally, and Percy were sitting in three chairs, across from an empty chair where I was supposed to sit. I walked over and sat there, my mind spinning.

"Percy..." I began, a total loss for words. My gaze met Sally's. I melted. "Mom..." She stood up and walked over to me. I stood up as she extended her arms. I melted in her hug, crying. We were both crying, as a matter of fact.

"It was the hardest thing I had to do," Sally said. "I had to tell myself that it was for your own good, and even then, I couldn't do it. It took every ounce of self control to leave you there and not come back. I'm sorry I left you, but now I'm bringing you home. I promise I'll never leave you again." She pushed me away, studying me, drinking me in. I realized that I was doing the same thing. She let out a shaky smile and wiped tears from her eyes. "You look like me when I was your age. Except your eyes. You have your father's eyes." She let out a web sob. "Fourteen years," she murmured. "I missed fourteen years of your life. Fourteen years I wish I could get back."

"I-I thought you-you HATED me," I stuttered between sobs. "Just like e-everyone else."

"Oh, no," she murmured. "Never. I love you to bits." Percy came over and hugged me as well.

"I do as well," Percy said. "Besides, I get the little sister I've alway wanted." I punched Percy playfully in the gut.

"Looks like I'm obligated to make it hell for you," I retorted, wiping tears from my face. I'd composed myself enough quickly, another skill I've become good at over the years.

The four of us got to know each other better for the next fifteen minutes. Mid sentence, Mrs. Holt walked in, interrupting something Mom was saying.

"Have you made your decision?" she asked hopefully. The three of them nodded.

"She's my daughter," Mom said, smiling. "I'd like her back." Mrs. Holt sent me to pack my stuff, which didn't take too long. I had a suitcase packed with stuff in case I had to leave for Camp at a moments' notice, so I just stuffed the rest of my stuff in there. I dragged my suitcase out front where Mom and Paul were signing some papers. I was sad to leave Mrs. Holt, and we both teared up a little, but I really did want to leave. It was nice to know that now I had a family that loved me for who I was. During the car ride to New York, we all made small talk.

When we finally arrived, I was happy and carefree. I finally had a place that I could truly call home. My room was the room at the end of the hall, adjacent to Percy's. It was medium sized, with a window facing the back of the building. I could see the beach in the distance, the sun low in the horizon. I smiled and began to unpack.

I had a family now. It was a totally new feeling. I loved every bit of everyday. I relished the smell of blue pancakes in the morning, the stupid joke Percy made. It was the first time ever that I actually felt loved and appreciated, and I lovedthe feeling. I thought everything would be okay, that I could finally settle down with my newfound loved ones, that my luck had finally turned around.

I had no idea how wrong I was.

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**AUTHORS NOTE: THE SEQUEL TO THIS WILL BE CALLED "MELINA: BOOK TWO OF SOPHIA."**

**DEDICATIONS: Thank you to all my fans and a special thanks to my best friend. Not only did she inspire the character Melina, but she helped me come up with the idea for Sophia's bracelet. She also was the one who supported me as I wrote this. Thanks so much, and this story is dedicated to the bestest (yep, go ahead and kill me for terrible grammar) friend in the entire world! Another shoutout to CrazyPurpleUnicorn who is just awesome and a real huge fan. Let me give a shoutout to Ms. Briggs. If it weren't for her, I would've never even discover my love and talent for writing in the first place. And last, but certainly not least, a shoutout to ALL MY AWESOME FANS WHO HAVE FOLLOWED OR READ MY STORY FROM BEGINNING TO END! I LOVE YOU GUYS FROM PANEM AND BACK! (haha Hunger Games reference) Well, yeah, thank you for reading and never hesitate to leave a comment or constructive critism or something. I really love it when people do that =)))))**


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